The life and services of Joel R. Poinsett, the confidential agent in South Carolina of President Jackson during the nullification troubles of 1832

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THE

LIFE AND SERVICES

OF

Joel R. Poinsett,

THE CONFIDENTIAL AGENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA
OF PRESIDENT JACKSON DURING THE NUL-
LIFICATION TROUBLES OF 1832.

BY

CHARLES J. STILL E, LL.D.

Rcprvited from
" The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography."

PHILADELPHIA
1888.

THE

LIFE AND SERVICES

OF

Joel R. Poinsett.

THE CONFIDENTIAL AGENT IN SOUTH CAROIINA

OF PRESIDENT JACKSON DURING THE NUL-

LIFICATION TROUBLES OF 1832.

BY

CHARLES J. STILLE, LL.D.

Reprinted from
" The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.

PHILADELPHIA
1888.

f rrrS8

THE

LIFE AND SERVICES

OF

JOEL R. POINSETT.

I.

[Through the courtesy of the surviving member of Mr.
Poinsett's family, the Historical Society has been placed in
the possession of a mass of papers which illustrate very
fully his public and his private life. That life was one of
singularly varied interest. Mr. Poinsett was probably the
greatest American traveller of his time, penetrating into the
most remote and then little known regions of both the Old
and the New World ; he afterwards won distinction in the
diplomatic service of the country, and, above all, he was
known as the leader of the Union party in South Carolina
during its conflict with the Nullification heresy of 1832.
The papers which he left at his death, and which his family
have placed at the disposal of the Historical Society, seem to
be of great value and interest, as they throw light upon the
important events in which he took part. An attempt has
been made so to connect them in the following narrative
that their true significance as contributions to American
history may be understood.]

3

4 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

The career of Mr. Poinsett is not very familiar to this
generation, at least in this part of the country, and indeed,
the recollection of the great events which are associated in
our history with his name during more than a third of the
present century has strangely faded from the memory of
most people. But fifty years ago his reputation as a states-
man of a high order had been fairly gained by his public
services, and was generally recognized. His title to this
reputation seems, on a review of his public life, to have
been on the whole a just one. He belonged in his early
manhood to that small but brilliant body of Americans
who, with plenty of means, many accomplishments, and
much leisure, travelled with very observant eyes most exten-
sively in portions of Europe, then little visited by cultivated
people of any country. Their qualities gained them ad-
mission into the highest social circles in the countries in
which they travelled, and they succeeded by some means,
of which those who came after them seem to have lost the
secret, in knowing everybody worth knowing, however
high their rank or official position throughout Europe, and
in leaving a most favorable impression of themselves, and
of the nation which they may be said to have informally
represented. The curiosity of the foremost courtiers and
statesmen of the Old World (men whose names are now
historical) was naturally excited by observing the peculi-
arities of the citizens of the New, as they were exhibited
in the types who, at that era, presented themselves as
Americans. It cannot be doubted that men like Wash-
ington Irving in his younger days, the late Mr. George
Ticknor, and Mr. Poinsett among others did us a service
with the governing classes of the Old World during the first
third of this century which it is not easy to over-estimate.

Mr. Poinsett was not only a great traveller in his early
manhood, but wherever he went he was proud of being
known as an American citizen, a title which his own per-
sonal qualities invested in the eyes of those with whom
he was brought in contact with consideration and respect
He wandered too through the most remote regions 01

The Life and Services of Joel JR. Poinsett. 5

Russia. He became acquainted with the Tartars, the Per-
sians, the Armenians, the Georgians who live in the Trans-
Caucasian range of mountains, and along the shores of the
Caspian Sea, forming various tribes whose rulers had never
heard of the existence of America; later, his travels led
him to the other end of the world, to South America,
where he was sent by our government to ascertain the con-
dition of the different provinces at that time in revolt against
the Spanish Crown. In all these countries he became favor-
ably known to the most distinguished men of the time, from
the Emperor Alexander of Russia down to the famous rev
olutionary chiefs in South America. Everywhere he was
received and treated with the utmost kindness and con-
sideration. His great intelligence, his wonderful tact in
dealing with men, and his perfect sincerity gave bim a
commanding influence wherever he went, and that influence
was always employed for the advancement of his country's
interests.

The four years he passed in Congress (1821 to 1825) added
much to his fame, owing to his long familiarity from per-
sonal observation with all that concerned our foreign rela
tions. He was thought so peculiarly fitted for the diplomatic
service that he was appointed our first Minister to Mexico.
There, even with his experience, he found it difficult to steer
clearly through the embarrassments which were caused by
the distracted and revolutionary condition of the country,
but the knowledge that he gained was invaluable to us, and
he at least taught the Mexicans, on a memorable occasion,
a lesson in regard to the respect due the American flag (of
which more hereafter) which they have never forgotten.

He returned from Mexico just in time to take the lead of
the Union party in South Carolina in its conflict with the
nullification and threatened secession of that State, — a post
peculiarly suited to his active and intrepid spirit. It seems
to me that he has never received proper credit for the cour-
age and intelligence with which he maintained the cause of
the Union in those dark days when the great forces — social
and political — not only of South Carolina, but of a consid-

6 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

erable portion of other States of the South, were in the
hands of the nullifiers, and of those who sympathized
with them. By his influence, and that of the Union party
led by him, supported by the inflexible determination of
President Jackson to maintain the Union by any display of
force which might be necessary to accomplish his object,
the conspiracy for nullifying the laws of Congress, which
was embodied in the famous ordinance of South Carolina
in 1832, was broken up, the ordinance itself was repealed,
and South Carolina was once more brought into her normal
relations with the general government.

Some years later Mr. Poinsett became the Secretary
of War in the Cabinet of Mr. Van Buren. His adminis-
tration of that office was marked by intelligent and compre-
hensive measures in regard to many subjects of national
interest, among others the improvement of the artillery of
the army, the honest treatment of the Indians dependent
upon the government, and the organization of the famous
exploring expedition under Commodore Wilkes. He laid
the foundation of much that has since been done by the gov-
ernment, by advocating a wise and liberal national policy
with reference to these and kindred objects. During his
whole career Mr. Poinsett proved himself a thorough and
typical American. His notions of public policy were essen-
tially national, and his allegiance to the government of the
United States was always paramount. As such a public
man, especially a public man from South Carolina imbued
with such principles, and always standing firm on the na-
tional side, is something of a political curiosity, his life
and career seem well worth studying.

Joel Roberts Poinsett was born in Charleston on the
2d of March, 1778. He was of that Huguenot stock whose
force, intelligence, and virtue have been so conspicuous in
the history of the whole country, and especially in that of
South Carolina. His father, Dr. Elisha Poinsett, was an emi-
nent physician in Charleston, and he seems to have taken un-
common pains in the training of his son. Young Poinsett's
school days were passed in Charleston and in Greenfield, in

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 7

Connecticut, in which latter place he was under the care and
instruction of the Rev. Dr. Dwight, afterwards so famous
as the President of Yale College. His constitution was
naturally frail and delicate, and it was found that his health
suffered so much from the severe climate of Connecticut
that he returned after two years' absence to Charleston.
There, for a time, he pursued his studies, but in 1796 it was
determined to send him to England, and enter him as a
pupil at St. Paul's School in London, where his relative, Dr.
Roberts, was the Head Master. There he made great prog-
ress, particularly in his knowledge of the languages. He
was a respectable classical scholar, for he speaks in after-
years of having studied Herodotus in the original Greek,
as a guide-book to his travels in Southern Russia and the
shores of the Caspian Sea. In modern languages he became
very proficient. He acquired a fluent knowledge of French,
German, Italian, and Spanish, and made some progress in
Russian, a sort of knowledge which proved eminently useful
to him as a traveller.

From London he went to Edinburgh, intending to pursue
his medical studies there. He soon became the favorite
pupil of the celebrated Dr. Gregory, then one of the fore-
most Professors in the University. His health, however,
broke down, owing to confinement to his hard work as a
medical student. By the advice of his friends he abandoned
for a time the study of medicine, and went to Portugal.
Returning with restored strength, he became a pupil of Mar-
quois, who had been a Professor in the Military Academy
at Woolwich. The bent of Mr. Poinsett's mind and tastes
was always towards the life of a soldier, and under Marquois
he acquired a thorough theoretical knowledge of his pro-
fession, and his body was strengthened by the active military
habits and discipline in which he was trained. His father,
however, was averse to his entering the army in time of
peace, and he was called back to Charleston, and became a
student of law. This pursuit, however, was little suited to
his active, not to say restless, habits, and it was soon aban-
doned. He was then permitted by his father to return to

8 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

Europe and to become, what his ardent curiosity and quick
intelligence had always inclined him to be, a traveller, going
wherever his love of knowledge or adventure might call
him. He spent the winter of 1801-2 in Paris. He was
fortunate in being there at a period the most interesting and
important in many respects of any in French history. It
was the period of the first consulate of Napoleon, the era
of transition from the horrors of the Revolution and of
civil and foreign war to the settlement of a stable and or-
derly government. It was the era of the peace of Luneville
and of Amiens, which had been brought about by the
French victories of Hohenlinden and Marengo. Never,
perhaps, in the whole career of Napoleon was his power of
doing good so absolute as at this particular epoch, and never
was his transcendent genius so conspicuous as when he
strove to reconstruct French society from the ruins which
had been left by the Revolution. Mr. Poinsett witnessed
the beginning of the mighty task which Napoleon had
undertaken of endeavoring to bring order out of chaos.
During his residence in Paris the churches were reopened
for Divine service, and a Concordat with the Pope agreed
upon, the Legion of Honor was established, a general am-
nesty was proclaimed, the national finances and credit were
re-established, a new system of taxation was adopted, the
revolutionary law of succession to property was confirmed,
a system of education was organized, the Code Civil, perhaps
the grandest and certainly the most enduring monument of
the Napoleonic era, was discussed and its main principles
settled, and throughout France vast works of public utility
designed to make people forget the miseries of the Revolu-
tion, and bless the government of the First Consul, were
undertaken. It was an era of unbounded activity and high
hopefulness. The young American traveller had abundant
opportunity of studying the effect of these conciliatory
measures on public opinion, and of witnessing the violent
strusrele between the elements of the old and new as the
master-hand of Napoleon fused them together. Paris, too,
at that time was full of foreigners, many of them men of

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 9

distinction in their respective countries, who had been led
there during the peace by their curiosity to see the wonder-
ful First Consul, and who wished to judge for themselves of
the likelihood of the stability of the vast changes which he
had made in the organization of the national life. "With
these men, as well as with the distinguished soldiers who
surrounded Napoleon, he discussed freely the various meas-
ures proposed for the reorganization of the nation, and thus
in a very important way his political education was advanced.
The next year Mr. Poinsett, taking advantage of the yet
unbroken peace, visited Italy, then divided into a number
of ephemeral republics established by the French after their
conquest of the country. He did not fail to observe how
little the real character of the people of that country had
been changed by the strange republicanism (according to his
standard) which had been forced upon them by the French
That character remained still Italian, with all its defects and
characteristic traits, and the administration was wholly con-
trolled by French agents, and in harmony with French
policy and interests.

These were new specimen types of the republican form for
Mr. Poinsett, and he found another of the same kind when
he reached Switzerland on his travels. Switzerland was the
oldest republic in modern history, but its ancient organization
was not of the French pattern, and did not suit the French
policy after the country had been overrun by the French
armies. The radical party supported by the French strove
to establish, contrary to all Swiss traditions and experience,
a highly centralized system, the other, one in which each
canton should be practically independent. This latter party,
made up chiefly of the men of the forest cantons, determined
upon resistance, and they selected the celebrated Aloys
Reding as their leader. WTien Mr. Poinsett reached Swit-
zerland he found that Reding had raised an army of ten
thousand men to maintain the cantonal independence, and
he joined his army without hesitation. The campaign was
a short one, and Reding's forces even gained an important
victory over their own countrymen at Morgarten, a spot

10 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

sacred in the eyes of the Swiss, for there they had, in 1515,
destroyed the army of their Austrian tyrants under the
leadership of a Reding of the same name and lineage aa
that of their present leader, but the French allies of their
enemies having surrounded them, and cut them off from all
supplies, Reding and his followers were forced to capitulate.

Mr. Poinsett seems always to have embraced the oppor-
tunity of becoming acquainted with the men in each coun-
try he visited who had become for any reason famous.
From the camp of Reding he passed into the society of
M. decker and that of his accomplished daughter, Madame
de Stael, who were then exiles from France, and were re-
siding at Coppet, on the shores of the Lake of Geneva.
Through the kind offices of Mr. Livingston, then American
Minister in France, who was travelling in Switzerland, he
was brought into friendly relations with these illustrious
personages. They told him much concerning the stormy
scenes of the French Revolution, in the early part of which
they had been such prominent actors, and, according to Mr.
Poinsett's account, they never wearied of talking of events
in French and American history. They explained, too, the
secret motives (which none knew better than they) of many
little-understood acts of the French government in its policy
towards the United States during the American Revolution.
Mr. Poinsett confirms — what was well known from other
sources — the filial devotion, approaching adoration, with
which Madame de Stael regarded her father in his declining
years. Owing to his imperfect utterance through the loss
of his teeth, and Mr. Livingston's deafness, Madame de
Stael became to Mr. Poinsett the charming interpreter of
the words of wisdom which fell from his lips.

From Switzerland Mr. Poinsett went to Vienna, passing
through Southern Germany, at that time far from being the
attractive and interesting country which it has since been
made by the conveniences of modern travel. He remained
but a short time in Vienna, long enough, however, to become
a habitue of the salon of the celebrated Prince de Ligne,
the most distinguished soldier of Austria. He was called

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 1 1

home by the news of the death of his father, and by the
serious illness of his only sister.

His love of travel and of adventure still remaining un-
abated, he returned in 1806 to Europe, intending to carry
out his long-cherished plan of travelling in Russia. Indeed,
at that time this was the only country on the Continent
through which a traveller could pass without inconvenience
or danger, as it was the only one which was not overrun
by the armies engaged in the Napoleonic wars. He landed
at Gothenburg, and passed through Sweden so rapidly that
he seemed impressed chiefly with the extraordinary contrast
between the poverty of the people and the vast amount of
food and drink which they were capable of consuming.

After a painful and tedious journey through Finland, he
reached St. Petersburg in the beginning of the winter of
1806-7. At this capital he had unusual advantages of J.
studying the character of the people and the condition of
the country at a most important crisis. We had then no
Minister in Russia, and Mr. Poinsett was afterwards told by
the Emperor Alexander that he was the second American
gentleman who had been presented to him.

The condition of Russia during that winter was a very
critical one, as the danger of a French invasion became
imminent. After the victories of Austerlitz and Jena, by
which the French had destroyed the armies of Austria
and Prussia, they pressed on eastward with the hope of
subduing their ally, Russia. The battles of Eylau and of
Pultusk were fought during this period, and although the
Russians claimed a victory in each case, the progress of the
French towards their frontier was not stopped. Those who
were responsible for the safety of the country were filled
with grave anxiety, and the Emperor Alexander did not
hesitate to say, in a confidential conversation with Mr.
Poinsett, that he might even be obliged to sign a treaty of
peace under the walls of Tobolsk (Siberia). A ukaseVas
issued in December calling for six hundred thousand addi-
tional troops to defend the Empire. Notwithstanding all
these preparations, and the grave preoccupations of the

12 The Life and Services of Joel JR. Poinsett.

time, the winter gayeties of St. Petersburg, according to
Mr. Poinsett, were not interrupted. How the Russians
bore themselves, and how they entertained strangers while
in imminent danger of invasion, is best told in Mr. Poinsett's
own letters, extracts from which we lay before the reader.

..." Our consul, M r . Levett Harris, asked permission to
present me at Court on the first presentation day, whereupon
he received the next day a note from the Baron de Budberg
minister of foreign affairs asking an interview, whereat he
told him, that the Emperor would not wait until the next
presentation day, but would receive M r . Poinsett the fol-
lowing morning at Parade and that an aide-de-camp would be
sent to conduct him there. Accordingly I rose and dressed
by candlelight and after taking a cup of coffee had not
long to wait for the officer who was sent to usher me to the
Imperial presence. We were set down at the door of an
immense barrack where I found the Emperor in front of
the guard surrounded by a train of general officers in bril-
liant uniforms. He towered above them- all and was dis-
tinguished by his great height and manly form, as well as by
a pleasing and refined expression of countenance. He re-
ceived me courteously, even kindly. Spoke favorably of our
country, said that I was the second American gentleman
who had visited Russia and was glad to hear that I was the
friend of M r . Allen Smith who was remembered in Russia
with esteem and whose departure had been universally
regretted. He made a sort of apology for receiving me
so unceremoniously but supposed an American would not
object to be so treated. After a pretty long talk he bowed
meaningly & I withdrew. I have since been to court and
been presented to the Reigning Empress and the Empress
Mother — on this occasion the Emperor advanced to meet
me & shook me cordially by the hand. This distinction
has brought me into notice, into fashion I may say. I have
not dined in my own lodgings since I have been here nor
passed an evening in quiet. I dine out daily as a thing of
course, and go in the early part of the evening to some ball or
soiree or reunion of some sort and close the night at Count
Gregory OrlofPs where the members of the Diplomatic
Corps usually drop in to sup & talk over the news and
events of the day. At Count OrlofPs I meet many very
pleasant men among them Pozzo di Borgo a Corsican
gentleman who has just entered the service of Russia. I
was going to say that his principal recommendation is his

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 13

avowed hatred & hostility to Napoleon, the inheritance of
some family feud aggravated by personal injuries or insults ;
but he professes other qualifications for office, is well in-
structed and well informed, shrewd and bold. He enjoys
the confidence of the Emperor & will rise high. He
supped at OrlofPs the first night after he donned the Rus-
sian uniform and we drank to his future success. He is a
good talker and an agreeable companion.

" My acquaintance with that gifted nobleman Lord Royston
son of Lord Hardwicke, ripened into friendship and as our
tastes accorded we agreed to travel together in the spring
into the Asiatic possessions of Russia. The southern por-
tion of the Continent of Europe was closed to English
travellers and they were fain to turn their steps to the
north, so that I met many distinguished men from that
country in Vienna & in St. Petersburg.

" Lord Royston was a ripe scholar and we read Herodotus
together as a preparation for our eastern tour and studied
Russ that we might talk a little to the people. "We found it
a difficult language to acquire and thought it resembled the
Greek in the grammar & construction. Like the Greek,
it has the dual which no other modern tongue has, & we
found some good Russian translations of Grecian poetry.

" Let me tell you how the day passes here to the idle man
of leisure who seeks to make the time agreeable. I gen-
erally dress by candle light so that the dawn of a winter's
day finds me ready to read or go forth to parade to show
myself. Here the Emperor sometimes chats with me and
the officers always. By the way I am indebted to them for
information which saved me from much suffering. It is
against all forms of etiquette to present oneself with great
coat or other outward covering before the Emperor, so that
the first time I waited on him at Parade I nearly perished
with cold. The officers saw my situation and advised me
before I repeated my visit to have my clothes lined with
oiled silk — I did so and never sufi'ered again from the same
cause. After breakfast Lord Royston calls and we have our
Russian master & read for an hour or two when we then
go out to walk or drive to see sights or separate to our sev-
eral amusements. I usually to the Salle D'Armes kept by
one Silverbriik a German an excellent master. Here there
is always good company. We then sometimes adjourn to
take a second breakfast with Prince Adam Ctzartorizki
an accomplished Polish nobleman and a great favorite of
the Emperor Alexander. Then home to dress for dinner

14 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

and the evening passes as already described. Apropos of
dining I received the other day an invitation, an order I
should have said, to dine with the Emperor at three o'clock.
I repaired to the palace at the hour indicated and was re-
ceived by the Marshal Prince Tolstoi, and ushered into
the presence. The Empress who is one of the most dig-
nified persons, very pretty withal, I ever saw was walking
about the room with her sister and His Majesty standing
at a window overlooking the Neva. A favorite aide-de-
camp was present who with the Mareschale made our party
of six. I was received unceremoniously and treated kindly
so much so that but for a little extra magnificence at table
might have fancied myself dining with a bon bourgeois. Some
of the servants were from the East & wore the rich and
somewhat fantastic dress of their country. The soul of the
repast was an easy, pleasant flow of talk in which the Em-
press mingled with great sweetness & good sense. After
dinner we returned to the reception room, where we partook
of coffee and had a very long conversation upon the politi-
cal affairs of Europe. The Emperor urged me to learn the
language and seemed pleased when I told him I was doing
so. He then expressed a wish that I should visit his domin-
ions and bring him an exact account of their condition add-
ing some flattering words which I will not repeat. I have
met him since and he has always renewed the subject.
The last time he addressed a few words to me jocularly in
Russ which I fortunatelv understood & could answer. He
laughed and encouraged me to persevere. By the way these
meetings in the streets are awful events. When the Em-
peror stops to talk to any person, which he does very rarely,
every one stops too so that the pavement & street are choked
with the passengers no doubt cursing in their hearts the
interruption and its cause.

" As I was told would happen after dining with the Em-
peror, the Empress Mother who keeps a court of her own
invited me to her table. This was a very different aflair,
a dinner of twelve covers the only ladies the Empress and
the Grand Duchess Catherine, the men were the officers of
her court and attached to her service. I dare say pleasant
gentlemanly men, but I had no opportunity of ascertaining
their companionable qualities. I was seated nearly opposite
the Empress and we had all the talk to ourselves. She took
no notice of any one else & addressed herself altogether to
me sometimes questioning me without pity & at others
telling me of her charitable and manufacturing establish-

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 15

ments both here and at Moscow. I must see them from
Cronstadt to Moscow. The first part I have undergone, but
the best is to be seen at Moscow, an orphan house & estab-
lishment of Demoiselles nobles. The magnificence and re-
finement displayed in these court entertainments are capti-
vating and the notice of such personages highly flattering
It has not turned my head quite & I do not think it
would be agreeable to pass one's life in such companv I
was going to write Society but there is no Society properlv
so called without perfect equality. As I promised I went
to Cronstadt the port of St. Petersburg. Harris (the Con-
sul) accompanied me in a sleigh. We set out before day-
light that we might return the same evening. We saw the
cotton manufactory which is under the patronage of the
impress mother, and the workshops of the navf V ard all
very inferior to those I had seen at home and in England
In the former I especially noted the excellencies & defect
for I was warned that I should have to undergo a strict
examination the first time I met the lady patroness. Look-
ing trom the docks to seaward as far as the eye could reach
was one sheet of ice covered with a thick coating of snow
I was summoned to the palace to assist at another dinner
party & to be questioned by the Empress mother. The
affair went off exactly as the first party had done except
tnat we talked a great deal about carding & spinning I
explained how cards were made in the United State's b Y
machinery, and her Majesty gave instant orders to have
the machinery introduced into her manufactory at Cron-
stadt 1 did not say so, but was sure manufactures fos-
tered by imperial favor alone will never succeed. There
is nothing of the energy & economy of individual interest
nn?a « T 01 *™"* a . re s ? rfs receiving only a scanty modicum
not sufficient to maintain their families in any sort of com-

tW Jif W ° meU m Serfc J° m P a ^ no tribute > neith er do
ba/d, tn tL anj - WageS r hen , tlie y accompany their hus-
bands to these imperial workshops; altogether it is a
wretched system. Alexander is suspected of%eing opposed
I 1 ?™ actl ° ns a » d sa Jings are watched with |reat jeal-
ousy by the nobles whose estates consist altogether of this de-
scription of property. Fortunes are estimated by the number
of sou s a proprietor possesses. These souls (the men only)
t?fW ]■ S 6d and pa ? onl ^ a m °derate tribute ; but not-
Wfit a ^ lng th ? !l umer ° us hu *iane ukases for their especkl

W fk 7- ?,? thGlr families are slaves an <* although by
law adsmpti glebv are sometimes sold without the land

16 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

" The Emperor said to me one day, ' we cannot create a
mercantile marine and have been hitherto entirely depend-
ant upon England for the transportation of our produce.
We now hope the United States will relieve us from this
dependance, and are therefore anxious to encourage your
shipping and to form the closest commercial relations with
you. You must say so to your President,' which I accord-
ingly did. But I sought the reason why Russia could not
possess a commercial marine and soon found it in the
nature of her institutions. If a ship is to be fitted out for
a foreign port the ship's husband must give security that
the sailors, who are private property will return to their
owners. A condition so burdensome puts an effectual stop
to all mercantile enterprize in Russian bottoms. The ships
of war are manned either by the Crown peasants or by draft
as the army is filled. By the way no army is recruited with
so little trouble. Orders are extended to the Landed pro-
prietors to furnish on a given day so many per cent, of their
vassals of a certain age. The poor serfs are marched to the
rendezvous and on the appointed day received by the re-
cruiting officer, shaved, uniformed and speedily converted
under the rudest discipline into a regular soldier of won-
derful endurance and great passive courage.

" There is in St. Petersburg a college of foreign affairs
where those who are destined to conduct the civil and political
affairs of the country are educated. It ensures some fitness
and a steady undeviating policy in the government as some
clever men have been brought up here. I distinguished
young Count Nesselrode and Count Lieven among the
number— Dolgorouki, but why should I repeat these Rus-
sian names which you will never retain nor care^ about
even if they should hereafter become conspicuous in his-
tory. In this country to have rank at Court it is not suffi-
cient to be born the son of a Knas or Prince the Russians
have translated the word. A Knas is in most respects like
the ancient Scotch Laird— chief of a clan, but the Knas's
clan are more slaves than the highlanders ever were. Prince
indeed! All the sons & daughters of these hereditary
landholders are called Prince & Princess which multiplies
the number of these titles inconveniently— Counts are more
rare. They are later creations since Peter the Great and
copied from the German; Graf & Graffen serving to des-
ignate the numerous tribe in both countries. Well neither
Prince or Count take rank at Court or dare drive about
the streets of St. Petersburg or Moscow in a coach & four

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 17

unless they have served in some civil or military capacity
up to the rank of Major. All rank having relation to the
military. My excellent friend Count Gregory OrlofF, a Sena-
tor & Privy Counsellor, is a Lieutenant-General although he
never saw an army except at a grand review.

"I have seen a magnificent display of the Imperial
troops, 20,000 men of all arms drawn up & maneuvre-
ing on the solid ice of the Neva. You have no idea of
the imposing appearance of such an array. Horse, foot
& artillery perfectly appointed thundering away upon the
smooth plain of the river. The cold was too intense for
the troops to remain out long, so that the solemn impression
of the spectacle rested pleasingly on the imagination. We
have heard of the battles of Pultusk and Preusse Eylau.
The Russians claim the victory and have chaunted Te
Deum ; but there is an air of consternation about the Court
which induces me to fear the worst. The Emperor too
said to me that he would make peace under the walls of
Tobolsk ; which looks like an expectation of being driven
out of his capital by the arch fiend as Buonaparte is de-
nominated here in common parlance. The common people
look upon him as the devil incarnate for he has been ex-
communicated in the Greek churches of the Empire.

" The Emperor is about to depart and draw nearer the
frontier. This movement I find fills his most sagacious
friends with fear. If he joins the army his courage will
expose him to danger & they dread his Eldest Brother
Constantine. He is indeed a fiend, and with a government
such as this the only alternative would be to repeat the
tragedy of the death of Paul. Again those who know
Alexander best say that he will succumb in case of renewed
reverses and make peace with France. We shall see. The
Emperor told me he was going & spoke right manfully.
He sent for me to dinner at the palace and after it was over
took mehy the arm and walked into an adjoining apartment.
I am a little deaf you know said he & want to talk to you
confidentially. He put many pertinent questions about our
country & our system & after hearing my replies said
emphatically well that is a glorious form of gov*. & if I
were not an Emperor I would be a Republican, meaning
of course that if he were not an Autocrat, a sovereign per
se he would be one of the sovereigns. He then said that it
was a pleasant thing to converse with a man who had no
fear of offending & no favor to ask or expect, but that he
wished to change these relations with regard to me and

2

18 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

would gladly see me enter his service either civil or mili-
tary. Seeing me about to reply & reading hesitation in
my looks he continued execute your project, see the Em-
pire, acquire the language, study the people & when we
meet again let me hear your determination; and so we
parted. The prospect is a brilliant one but somehow I
cannot reconcile it to my sense of duty to abandon my
country."

In March, 1807, Mr. Poinsett, accompanied by Lord Roy-
ston, began his journey to the southeastern provinces of
Russia. They were furnished by the government with
every facility for travelling in safety through the wild
regions on the borders of the Caspian and the Black Seas,
being specially recommended to the care of the Russian
commanders in that quarter. They reached Moscow after
a journey of five days, suffering intensely from the cold, and
travelling in a conveyance which Mr. Poinsett says, " rolled
and pitched like a vessel in a choppy head sea," the motion
at times making them quite sea-sick. At Moscow they saw
what few Americans have ever seen, — that wonderful city
in its strange Oriental aspect, before it was destroyed by fire
after its conquest by the French in 1812. From Moscow
they passed on eastwardly to the ancient Tartar city of
Kasan, and thence down the Volga to Astrachan at its mouth.
Here they entered upon the threshold of a world totally new
and strange to a Western traveller. That portion of Russia
which they proposed to visit had been recently annexed to
the Empire, the eastern part, or that between the Caspian
and the Caucasian Mountains, having been taken from the
Persians by Peter the Great, while the western, that between
those mountains and the Black Sea, known as Georgia, had
been conquered from the Turks by the Empress Catherine.
These districts were then occupied by Russian troops, and
they were inhabited by wild and savage tribes of shepherds,
who were still in a great measure ruled by their own khans,
and retained many of their old habits and usages. They
stood to Russia very nearly in the same relation which Rus-
sia had once held to their forefathers, the Tartar tribes, who

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 19

had overrun their territory, — that is, they were tributary
states. The country which they occupied between the Cas-
pian and the Black Seas formed the route which the larger
portion of the original Aryan stock had taken in prehistoric
times in their migration from Asia to Europe. Many traces
of their most ancient manners, customs, and religions still
remained. The population was a strange medley of races
and tribes, retaining in many cases the various forms of
religious worship which their fathers had brought with
them from their original homes. There were collected in
this out-of-the-way and comparatively small territory not
only Russians, but Cossacks, Calmucks, Tartars, Hindoos,
Persians, Greeks, and Armenians. Each race lived apart,
and preserved some of its original distinctive peculiarities.
The travellers visited, for instance, the Hindoo temple of
Brahma at Astrachan. There they saw, what has often been
observed by travellers in India, a form of worship and ritual
resembling in some respects that of the Roman Catholic mass.
Buddhists were also to be found among the Calmuck Tar-
tars, and the worship of the Lamas. They were there shown
the famous prayer-machine, consisting of a barrel, on which
were pasted written prayers, which, when revolved with
great rapidity in the face of the idols placed before it,
prayed as much and as effectually, in the opinion of their
priests, in one minute as could be done in the ordinary
method in a whole day. Later on, near Baku, on the
southern shore of the Caspian, the seat of the naphtha- or
petroleum-wells, and now the centre of a vast trade in that
article with all parts of Europe and Asia, they encountered
the Guebres, or Fire- Worshippers, who were Persian pil-
grims, who had travelled a long distance in order to perform
their devotions in the " Land of Eternal Fire."

At Astrachan the travellers began to wonder why an
empire so autocratic as that of Russia permitted such a
diversity of opinions and usages in matters of religion as
prevailed there, and this wonder was increased as they
penetrated farther into the country. They saw nothing
which they were in the habit of regarding as distinctively

20 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

Russian except the garrisons intended to preserve the peace
and obedience of the country. At Astrachan they remained
about three weeks, and, although the plague was raging in
the town, and even in the quarantine grounds, their curi-
osity to see all the strange and novel things to be found in
the neighborhood was boundless, and they were not deterred
by fear of infection from visiting them all.

The Caucasian provinces to the south of Astrachan were
inhabited by warlike pastoral tribes, still ruled by khans
who were practically independent. The Russian authori-
ties considered travelling through this region dangerous,
especially where the travellers were two strangers, who
claimed that their only motive for visiting the country was
curiosity, — a motive which the natives could not, of course,
appreciate. They were provided, therefore, with an escort
of three hundred Cossacks. They were advised, it is said,
by one of the khans whom they met at an early stage of
their journey, to dismiss their escort, and to trust to Tartar
hospitality for their safety and kind treatment. Fortunately
for them, they did not follow his advice, as it proved that
their guards were more to be trusted than some of the wild
chieftains whom they met. They reached Derbend (Portal
Caspian) in safety, and thence went on to Baku, then a dis-
trict regarded with superstitious terror as the land of eternal
fire, and now converted into a place whence a large portion
of the civilized world draws its supplies of material for artifi-
cial light. The travellers, of course, met with some curious
adventures on their way, and of these Mr. Poinsett gives in
one of his letters the following lively account :

"... From the constant state of warfare in which this
country has been involved the Peasantry invariably at our
approach took to the woods, but after a little while finding
that their houses were not burnt they returned, and the
Mahamandar presented to the principal the firman for
quarters and a supply of provisions, which generally pro-
duced great murmurings and generally ended by the Maha-
mandar beating them most unmercifully, this argumentum
baculorum invariably produced a supper. Our quarters
always consisted of either a scaffold erected on four poles

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 21

on the roof of a house, the inside being uninhabitable.
The houses of the Peasantry are built of clay or unburnt
brick. We had proceeded thro' a well cultivated Country
having a view of Caspian on one side and the great chain
of Mount Caucasus on the other the summits covered with
snow. On the third morning the alarm was given that a
troop of horsemen were advancing towards us, we arranged
our little troop and prepared to receive them. When they
were within musquet shot the Principal of them advanced
and said that he was chief of several villages near us and
entreated us with much importunity to accompany him to
the nearest and spend the remainder of the day. We con-
sented, and he immediately dispatched a Courier to have
every thing prepared for our reception. We spent the re-
mainder of the day with him and he entertained us in the
best manner the village afforded. In the morning when we
wished to proceed we missed the horses of our Conductor
and Persian Escort; fortunately our own and the Copahs
were picketed under a guard. Our treacherous host had dis-
appeared. Whilst we were deliberating what was to be done,
he sent us a message to say that as we were travelling with-
out the escort of his Khan he should not permit us to pro-
ceed any farther, and if we attempted it by force he would
raise the whole Country ; he appeared at the same time at
the head of a body of horse. To attempt to proceed would
have been folly, to retreat to Derbend near two days journey
was equally impracticable. We therefore resolved to gain
Kouba the residence of the Khan about thirty miles from
the village. I accordingly ordered the Copahs to seize all the
horses in the village and mounted the Persians in the best
manner possible and we began our march, the Beg and his
followers hovered about us for some time without daring to
attack us. He at length advanced, and demanded a Parley.
I met him with only our Interpreter. He asked where we
intended to go. I told him very calmly to the Khan of
Kouba to complain of his robbery and insolence. He said
all he wished was that we should go to the Khan and that
he would accompany us. When we were within five miles
of Kouba he again rode up, and said that if we would say
nothing of what had passed to the Khan he would return
the horses. We told him that we would make no conditions
with such a villain. He hesitated for some time but at
length returned the horses and his troop dispersed.

" Upon our arrival at Kouba we were conducted to the
market Place into a large open Piazza where Carpets were

22 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

spread for us and we were desired to repose until the Khan
was prepared to receive us. The whole town of Kouba col-
lected in the market place to see European travellers a sight
most rare in Kouba. The officers of the Khan household
were obliged to exercise their sticks to keep them from
crowding into the Piazza. After waiting more than an
hour in grand exhibition, the gentleman waited upon us to
say that the Khan was ready to receive us.

" The Khan was seated in a large Persian summer house
an elevation of three stories without walls. On the third floor
the Khan was seated surrounded by all his court. Without
the circle his guard were stationed leaning upon their fusils
reversed. The Khan made a sign to us to seat ourselves near
him and welcomed us to Kouba. I immediately harangued
him upon the occasion of our coming to the Court, detailed
the whole conduct of the Beg and demanded to know
whether it was by his orders that we had been treated in
that infamous manner and ended by declaring that it would
be an eternal stain to the bright reputation of Chjek-ali
Khan that strangers had met with such outrages in the
Khannate of Kouba. The astonishment of the whole court
when this was interpreted to them is not to be described.
The Khan disclaimed all knowledge of the transaction, ex-
pressed great regret at our treatment, but begged that now
we were at Kouba we would no longer think of the disagree-
able Circumstances which had brought us there, but en-
deavour to divert ourselves in the best manner possible. He
then became very inquisitive asking questions dictated by
the profoundest ignorance. We were obliged to give him a
long geographical lecture which he made his secretary write.
Upon being told that I was from America he asked me if
the King of America was powerful among the Kings of
Europe and if we joined the French Empire. After a long
explanation he insisted upon knowing the name of our Shah
and Thomas Jefferson is on record at the court of Chiek-ali
Khan of Kouba as Shah of America. In the meantime the
servants spread cotton Cloths round the room and placed
before each guest a thin piece of bread near a yard long
which served likewise the purpose of napkins for they eat
with their fingers and grease their hands and heard most
filthily. They next brought water to wash our hands, and
placed before us different meats cut small, with rice. The
Khan's Physician sat next to him and pointed out what he
was to eat and served him with wine of which he drank
plentifully, obliging us to pledge him each time observing

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 23

that he was a strict observer of the laws of Mahomnied ex-
cept in this one instance but he could not refrain from wine.
Whenever any one drank ' Khan Saluna' or the health of the
Khan re-echoed round the room ; When he drank himself
it was a horrid tintamarre for this ceremony was repeated
four times. Whilst we dined, some musicians and buffoons
entered the room and the Physician came to inform me that
one of them would play the devil for our diversion. The
droll put on a fools' Cap with bells and began dancing and
singing with such antic gestures as put the whole court into
a roar of laughter. Then ensued a Contest between two
musicians who inflating their cheeks produced such long
shrill notes from an octave pipe as excited universal applause.
Their music consisted of these pipes, a three stringed fiddle,
two guitars a small drum and two tambours de basque.
They have little idea of time and have no notes, whilst they
played, the whole Court beat time or rather clapped their
hands. During the contest between the pipers which should
produce the longest and shrillest notes, several girls entered,
elegantly dressed after the Persian manner, long large red
pantaloons which cover even the instep, a close silk jacket,
and over it a short robe open in front, their heads covered
with a vail. They took their seats at the lower end of the
room and uncovered their faces. They were generally hand-
some & highly painted which is a general "custom in the
east. As the Pipe was handed constantly round they smoked
in their turn with great gout. They danced and sung alter-
nately, their dancing resembled that of the Spanish women,
very little motion of the feet, but much graceful action of
the arms and body. Their singing was a horrid squalling
in loud falsett voice. They hid their faces which was neces-
sary for to produce those sounds. The contortions must have
been great. The Khan who had drank much wine became
very facetious, and amused himself with drumming time
upon his physicians head, and hitting his prime minister
great thumps on the back to the great diversion of the court.
During these entertainments fresh dishes were constantly
brought in, some in a singular manner, the roast always on a
long stick, which the Ecuyer tranchant shoved off into our
plates. As this entertainment had lasted from five till long
after midnight we thought it time to withdraw and accorcE
ingly took our leave retiring to our piazza, where we passed
the remainder of the night.

"In the morning we "performed our toilette before hun-
dreds even in the market place. When we had breakfasted,

2-4 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

one of the officers led before us two handsome horses which
he presented in his masters name. We shortly after had
our audience of leave in which the Khan was particularly
solicitous that we should mention him in foreign countries,
and was particularly gratified on being assured that wherever
we went we would always speak of the magnificence of
Chiek-Ali Khan. We left the town of Kouba which is for-
tified with a single wall and delightfully situated in a vast
valley, having a view of Mount Caucasus. As we had an
escort from the Khan and his firman we continued our
journey in perfect security. The Khannat of Kouba is the
most beautiful and fertile country we had hitherto seen.
We stopped the first night at a village where, as usual, the
Inhabitants fled at our approach and upon their return were
most unmercifully beaten. I assured these unfortunate
people that I would pay them and made my interpreter
offer them privately money, they refused however saying
that should their Khan be apprized of their having received
money from us they would be severely punished. Once in-
deed an Armenian declared that there were no provisions
in the village and upon my giving him money rode off with
the declared intention of purchasing every thing necessary
from the next village, but we saw no more of him and upon
his comrades being beaten they produced our usual supper
which consisted of a Pilau. The ensuing day we left the
Khannat of Kouba and entered that of Baku a gloomy
desert, bleak barren hills sloping to the Caspian scarcely
covered with a blade of grass.

" The Russian commander received us very politely and
assigned us very good quarters, we were obliged to remain
here several days to recruit our sick for the fatigue of riding
on horseback and sleeping in the air had proved too much
for two of our servants.

" The harbor of Baku is formed by a deep bay and the
entrance protected by two islands. It is the best and indeed
may be said to be the only port in the Caspian. The navi-
gation of this sea is rendered extremely dangerous by the
want of ports, the numerous sand banks, and frequent oc-
currence of gales of wind, which, altho' there is no tide, raise
the sea to a great height, and occasions an overflow of the
adjacent low lands.

" General Gouvief accompanied us to view the sources of
Naptha which are within 15 miles of Baku and constitute its
chief branch of commerce. On our approach to the source,
the earth for a considerable distance round was covered with

The Life and Services of Joel E. Poinsett. 25

a thin stratum of ]S T aptba. The large source is of some depth
and the petroleum is brought up in skins and deposited
in large reservoirs whence it is conveyed in skins to Sha-
mackie and other parts of Persia. It is used universally by
the Persians for their lamps, and especially in the manufac-
tories of silk, the people imagining that it is the only li«-ht
they can use without destroying the worm. There are some
small villages near these works, the machinery is the same
used by the Persians and is as bad as can be imao-ined
I here are some smaller sources of white naptha near this
but the grey or black naptha is the most abundant and the
most productive."

From Baku the travellers crossed the country to Tifflis,
in Georgia. Thence they went to Armenia, and were pres-
ent at the unsuccessful siege of Erivan by the Russians. As
war was then waging between Russia and the Ottoman Porte
they were, therefore, unable to reach Constantinople, but
returned northward to Moscow and St. Petersburg, the first
portion of the journey being through so sickly a country
that out of the party of nine who had left Moscow together
for their expedition only three returned alive. The health
of Mr. Poinsett suffered so much during this journey that
he was obliged to remain several months in St. Petersburg
before he gained sufficient strength to travel to the waters
of Toeplitz and Carlsbad.

On his way thither he passed through Koenigsberg, where
the Court of conquered and devastated Prussia, driven from
Berlin by the French, then resided. He was presented to
the King and to the celebrated Louisa, Queen of Prussia (the
mother of the late Emperor of Germany), celebrated alike
for her beauty and her misfortunes. It was then generally
thought, and the story even now is commonly believed, that
the Queen had been insulted by the Emperor Napoleon while
interceding with him for mercy towards the luckless country
whose armies he had destroyed. The statement that she had
been insulted she positively denied, according to Mr. Poin-
sett, and said that she had no other cause of complaint than
that the Emperor refused to grant her prayer that he would
spare her country. The King complained that thf- Emperor

26 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

Alexander, who had urged him to embark in this unhappy
war, had accepted from Napoleon a portion of the dismem-
bered Prussian territory.

At Toeplitz he met the Prince de Ligne, and Mr. Poinsett,
true to his instinct which led him to search out all the prom-
inent men of his time wherever he found them, was much
interested and instructed by the view he gave him of public
affairs at that critical period. The peculiarity of the Prince's
position was this : while horror-stricken with the spread of
revolutionary ideas, and the ascendency of the French arms
in Europe, he was disgusted because Austria had not placed
him in command of the armed force designed to combat
them. No man in Europe had at that time a higher repu-
tation for brilliant qualities and great services than he, but
he had lost his influence at the Austrian Court on the death
of Joseph II.

In the spring of 1808, Mr. Poinsett having recovered his
health, went through Germany to Paris. Never was that
city more brilliant than at this time, and nowhere could be
found a greater number of men who had gained European
renown by their services in the great Continental wars. One
of the most distinguished of the soldiers of Napoleon was
Massena (Prince of Essling), who previous to the French
Revolution had been an instructor in fencing of Mr. Joseph
Allen Smith, who had given Mr. Poinsett a letter of intro-
duction to him. He seems to have been very kind to Mr.
Poinsett, and presented him to Clausel, afterwards Marshal
of France, and to many other distinguished French soldiers.
Mr. Poinsett tells a curious story illustrating the relations of
Massena with Napoleon. In a private interview between
them a gun was suddenly heard to explode in the imperial
cabinet. The attendants rushed in, and found Massena
bathed in blood, while the Emperor explained that the gun
had been discharged by accident. The rumor spread, how-
ever, that Napoleon, in a fit of passion, had tried to murder
the Marshal. Mr. Poinsett paid a visit to Massena, who
was confined to the house by his wound. He spoke of the
rumor, and Massena told him it was well founded, that the

'i

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 27

discharge of the gun was not accidental, adding, " The
cursed little fool could not even shoot straight, or he would
have killed me."

Mr. Poinsett was present (as he always seems to have
been, with his extraordinary luck, on every important occa-
sion) at the celebrated interview between Napoleon and
Count Metternich, the Austrian Ambassador, at the Tuil-
eries in 1808, when the French Emperor publicly threatened
Austria that, if she continued to arm her subjects, he would
crush her beyond the power of recovery, a threat which
Napoleon supposed he had carried out when he dictated a
second time peace in the Austrian capital and married an
Austrian princess.

While Mr. Poinsett was residing in Paris there occurred
the memorable incident of the attack in time of profound
peace by the British war-ship " Leopard" upon the Ameri-
can frigate " Chesapeake," the " Leopard" firing a broad-
side into the " Chesapeake," and compelling her to surren-
der certain of her crew, who were claimed to be deserters
from the English navy. Like most of his countrymen, Mr.
Poinsett regarded war with England as the inevitable result
of this deplorable outrage. He lost no time in hurrying
home and offering his services to the government. He
hoped to receive the appointment of quartermaster-general,
that being the office for which he deemed himself best qual-
ified. He failed, however, to secure the position, and indeed
the immediate prospect of war was removed by the disavowal
on the part of the English government of the act of the com-
mander of the " Leopard" and the punishment of the admiral
who had ordered it.

President Madison, who had been very much impressed
with the capacity of Mr. Poinsett, then invited him to go to
South America on a secret and confidential mission. The
provinces of Buenos Ayres on the east and that of Chili on
the west side of the Andes had risen in revolt against the
Spanish government, and had established provisional Juntas,
who were for the time being the de facto rulers of the country.
Mr. Poinsett's instructions were to ascertain how firm a foun-

28 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

elation these new governments had, and if he found that their
existence was likely to be permanent, he was to negotiate
treaties of commerce with them. Mr. Poinsett was obliged
to dissemble the object of his mission, as the English, who
were numerous and powerful at Buenos Ayres, were very
jealous of the interference of any other power seeking to
share in the rich harvest which they hoped that they alone
would gather when the Spanish restrictive colonial policy
was abandoned. By skill and address, however, not unmin-
^led with a certain amount of personal danger, Mr. Poinsett
reached Buenos Ayres by way of Rio de Janeiro, and there,
notwithstanding the violent opposition of the English mer-
chants, he concluded a favorable commercial treaty with the
revolutionary authorities.

To complete his mission it was necessary for him to cross
the Andes and negotiate a treaty with the authorities of
Chili. This province was then governed by the popular
Junta, while Peru was still under the authority of the
Spanish Viceroy. The two provinces were engaged in war
with each other, so that until the war ended it was impossi-
ble to tell whether it would be practicable to conclude such
a treaty as Mr. Poinsett was instructed to make. There
seemed, indeed, little probability that hostilities would soon
be brought to a close. Mr. Poinsett became irritated by the
helpless inactivity which he was obliged to maintain. Fired
by the example of Carera, the leader of the Chilian army,
and yielding to his influence, he was induced by him to
accept the command of a division of his army. He could,
it is true, find nothing in his instructions as Charge" d' Affaires
to justify such an act, but he never was idle or inactive when
the interests of his country required him to confront per-
sonal danger, and he did not hesitate to take the responsi-
bility. Shortly after he had assumed command, he learned,
through an intercepted letter to the Viceroy of Peru, that the
commandant at Talcahuano, on the bay of Concepcion, had
seized eleven American whalers which had touched there
for supplies, and that the crews of these vessels would be
sent to Callao as prisoners as soon as a " set of irons could

•

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 29

be completed for the purpose of securing the men." He
immediately put his army in motion for Talcahuano and
completely surprised the Peruvian detachment in charge of
the vessels. He then posted his artillery in a commanding
position and demanded its unconditional surrender to the
Junta of Chili. His demand was at once complied with,
the Peruvian commander who " was completing the irons"
was made prisoner and the vessels were released. It is not
easy, of course, to describe the surprise and gratification of
the American captains when they found that their liberator
was one of their own countrymen, exercising his functions
as Charge d' Affaires in this novel and efficient way.

While Mr. Poinsett was in Chili he was a spectator of
one of the most memorable combats in our naval history, and
indeed almost one of the participants in it. Captain David
Porter was in the neutral port of Callao with the " Essex,"
considering himself in such a place out of all danger of attack
from two English vessels, the "Phebe" and the "Cherub,"
that lay close beside him. Captain Porter had made a most
successful cruise in the " Essex," destroying almost wholly
the English whaling fleet In the Pacific. He was about to
sail for home with Mr. Poinsett as one of his passengers,
trusting to the speed of his vessel to outstrip the two ships
of his enemy. Unfortunately for him a gale occurred, which
injured some of his rigging, just as he was off the port.
He was about putting back for repairs when he was attacked
by both English ships, and a battle ensued which, whether
we consider the disparity of the forces engaged or the con-
spicuous gallantry with which the "Essex" was defended in
a hopeless contest of more than three hours, is hardly paral-
leled in naval history. The battle was fought within the
range of a fort on the Chilian shore, and Mr. Poinsett was
sent to beg the commander to fire on the English, who were
violating the neutrality of his country. BuUhe fear of the
consequences kept the Chilian officer quiet. The prisoners
taken in the " Essex," including Captain Porter, were sent
home by the English in a cartel, but permission for Mr.
Poinsett to embark with them was positively refused, Cap-

•

30 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

tain Hilyar giving as a reason what, under the circum-
stances, was a high compliment to Mr. Poinsett, declaring
" that he would not suffer the arch-enemy of England to
return to America while the two countries were at war."

Mr. Poinsett, nothing daunted, however, recrossed the
Andes while they were covered with snow, reached Buenos
Ayres in safety, and passing down the Rio de la Plata in a
Portuguese vessel, and running the British blockade of the
river, was at last safely landed in the island of Madeira.
He soon made his way to the United States, but he found
that peace had then been made with England, so that there
was no longer any hope of his distinguishing himself, as he
had always longed to do, in the military service of his country.

On his return home he did not seek, as he well might
have done, repose after all the exciting adventures through
which he had passed. His active and enterprising spirit
found a large field for the development of its energy in pro-
jects for improving the condition of his native State, by the
construction of good roads and water-courses between its
widely-separated parts. He was appointed Chairman of the
Board of Public Works, made many suggestions in regard
to the internal improvements of the State, and superin-
tended the construction of at least one road which in its
day was regarded as a model for a work of that kind, — the
turnpike through Saluda Gap.

In 1821, Mr. Poinsett was elected a member of Congress
from the Charleston district. He took a prominent part in
many public measures of great importance, but his influ-
ence was perhaps strongest on the question of recognizing
the new republics of South America, concerning which his
opinion, based upon personal experience, was singularly
potent. He opposed the project of sending a commissioner
to Greece until that country was at least de facto independent,
in a speech of great statesmanlike force, not because he was
without sympathy for the sufferings which the Greeks en-
dured at the hands of the Turks, but because he regarded
the measure as one likely to serve as a precedent for in-
volving us in the complications of European politics.

The Life and Services of Joel JR. Poinsett. 31

In the year 1822 the question of the recognition of the
independence of Mexico by our Government became a prac-
tical one. From the year 1811, when the revolt of the
Mexicans against the Spanish Crown began, a number of
governments which, judging by their short duration, can be
regarded only as revolutionary, had ruled that portion of the
country from which the Spanish army had been driven.
The insurgents who formed these governments had been at
last subdued by the Spanish forces, but in the year 1821
a new and formidable movement took place to establish
the independence of Mexico under Don Augustin Iturbide,
who had been an officer in the royal army. In 1822,
Iturbide, in the face of much opposition, was proclaimed
Emperor, and the question for our Government was to
determine whether, in view of all the revolutionary dis-
turbances which had preceded his accession, he was so sup-
ported by public opinion that he would be able to establish
a permanent government in Mexico and thus entitle him to
a recognition on our part as the de facto ruler of the country.
The President (Mr. Monroe) selected Mr. Poinsett for the
delicate and responsible duty of ascertaining the true state
of affairs. His mission to Mexico was secret and confiden-
tial, and he went there in 1822. He travelled through
many districts of Mexico, mingled with all sorts and con-
ditions of people and with men of every party. The result
of his observations, so far as he thought proper to make
it public, appeared in a book called " Notes on Mexico,"
which he published shortly after his return. It contained
the best and indeed the only trustworthy account of Mexico
which had appeared in the English language up to that time.
His familiarity with the Spanish language and his long ac-
quaintance with public men both in the Old "World and the
New, as well as his experience with people who " get up"
revolutions in both hemispheres, gave to the judgment which
he at last arrived at great weight. He came to the conclu-
sion that Iturbide was not firmly seated on his throne, and
therefore that it would not be wise for us to recognize him.
He had hardly returned to this country when news reached

32 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

here that the Emperor had been deposed by a new revolution.
It may be added that Iturbide was exiled, but that hoping
again to regain power he returned to Mexico, and having
been taken prisoner was at once shot. It is perhaps worthy
of remark that to the Mexicans of the present day Iturbide,
although he was shot as a traitor, is nevertheless a national
hero. At present the highest places in the Mexican Valhalla
are appropriated to those who although Spaniards were them-
selves in life conspicuous for their hostility to the injustice and
cruelty of the Spanish domination. Thus in the new Paseo
of the City of Mexico colossal statues commemorate four men
whose title to fame rests in the eyes of the Mexicans on this
basis. These statues are those of Columbus, victim of the
ingratitude of Spain; Hidalgo, who headed the first out-
break against her authority; Morelos, who continued the
revolution ; and Iturbide, who although once a royal officer
and in the end executed as a traitor to the republic is still a
popular hero because he died an enemy to the Spaniards.

On the return of Mr. Poinsett from Mexico in 1823 he
became a candidate for re-election to Congress. The excite-
ment concerning the tariff was just beginning, and the
measures which it would be proper for South Carolina to
take in case the Government should not change its policy
on this subject were being discussed, and it was proposed
by some of his constituents that he should pledge himself
before the election as to the course he would pursue as a
member of Congress. To his honor be it said, and as an
example to us in these days of political degeneracy, that he
promptly and decidedly refused to make any such pledge or
declaration. He told those who asked him to make such a
promise that his past public career was the best pledge he
could give for his future course, and his constituents were
wise enough to re-elect him by a large majority.

In 1824, Mr. Poinsett was an ardent advocate of the elec-
tion of General Jackson to the Presidency. As there was
no choice by the people, the contest was transferred to the
House of Representatives, when Mr. John Quincy Adams
was chosen. On the day after Mr. Adams's inauguration

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 33

he offered the post of Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico to
Mr. Poinsett. Two things are to be specially noted in this
offer, — first, the purity of the public service at that time,
which permitted the appointment of a political opponent to
one of the most important offices in the gift of the Presi-
dent; and, second, the high opinion entertained by Mr.
Adams of Mr. Poinsett's qualifications, and certainly no one
had had more abundant opportunities than he of testing his
special gifts as a diplomatist, as he had been Secretary of
State during Mr. Poinsett's former mission to Mexico.

Mr. Poinsett's course while he represented this country
in Mexico has been much criticised, and certainly the dis-
tracted condition of the republic while he resided there
was such that no active policy he could have pursued, never
mind what, would have escaped the violent censure of some
of the partisans who were struggling to secure power and
office. When he reached Mexico he found the public mind
in a highly-excited condition. Although the country was
nominally a republic, he soon discovered that the real power
was in the hands of the aristocracy, who, supported by the
clergy and the army, strove to keep the ignorant populace
under their despotic sway. One of the peculiarities of the
Mexican revolt against Spain up to that period had been the
maintenance of the privileges and the riches of the Roman
Catholic clergy without any diminution whatever, for a
fanatical devotion to their religion has always been a
striking characteristic of the mass of the Mexicans. Many
of the revolutionary disturbances were led by priests, and
all of them were more or less under their control. What-
ever else the revolutionists changed, or desired to change,
the Church with its power and wealth was left unharmed
and untouched like the Ark in the wilderness : it was to all
sacred. The Church retained through all these convulsions
property which is said to have amounted in 1857 (when it
was confiscated) to the enormous sum of three hundred mil-
lions of dollars, and of course the clergy from their posi-
tion and organization with these means at their disposal
became the most powerful body in the country. By the

3

34 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

time Mr. Poinsett arrived in Mexico the higher clergy had
become tired of the revolutions which were incessantly dis-
turbing their peace and threatening their security. They
had become conservative, and eagerly allied themselves with
those who sought to establish a stable government, The
other conservative class was the large landholders, proprie-
tors of vast haciendas, sometimes many square miles in ex-
tent, where they lived in a semi-independent state, defying
any government which they did not choose to recognize,
and, in short, enjoying the influence and possessing substan-
tially the power of feudal lords. Indeed, so rooted is this
system of holding land in the habits and ideas of the people
of Mexico that to this day it remains almost wholly un-
changed. The Church has been despoiled of its riches and
privileges until now it is the poorest Catholic Church in
Christendom ; the country for a number of years has been
without serious revolutionary disturbances ; modern civiliza-
tion in our sense has penetrated beyond the frontier; and
yet this system of dividing the country among a few owners
of large haciendas continues unchanged, and the proprietors
exercise almost as much authority and influence now as they
did in the palmy days of the Spanish viceroy alty. These
two conservative bodies acting together had the entire con-
trol of the army in the support of their pretensions, while
the genuine republican party, as we should deem it, was
made up of a few enlightened men, many adventurers, and
the mass of the populace in the large towns.

Mr. Poinsett thus found the Church and the State banded
together in possession of the power on the one side, and on
the other the discontented but true republicans, watching
every opportunity and willing to risk even a revolution
(which, of course, in all Spanish-American countries is an
event far less grave than it would be with us) in order to
snatch that power from them.

On his arrival the leaders of the opposition crowded
around him seeking information and advice. It was natural
that they should have done so, for to whom would they be
likely to turn more readily than to the representative of

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 35

that great republic which had successfully surmounted
those obstacles which appeared so formidable to those who
were trying to establish in Mexico a system similar to that
which had been adopted here ? Mr. Poinsett gave the in-
formation, but declined to give the advice, as inconsistent
with his duties as Minister. He could not, of course, help
feeling that they, and not the party in power, were the true
republicans according to the standard which prevailed in any
of the countries in which he had passed his life. He had
probably, too, a certain sympathy with them, for, like every
true American of that day, he ardently desired the spread
of republicanism everywhere, and especially upon the Con-
tinent of America, but he never forgot that he was not
accredited to them, and that his business in the country
was with the established Government and not with the
opposition. He did no act which compromised his position,
still his sympathy no doubt encouraged the discontented,
and certainly did not aid him in negotiating the treaty
which he was sent to Mexico to make. His position be-
came a very difficult and embarrassing one, and many of
the Government party became very hostile to him.

Meanwhile, the disaffected became more and more clam-
orous, and at last, in consequence of the armed resistance
of the Government to the installation of Guerrero, whom its
opponents claimed to have elected President, they broke
out into open rebellion. With this revolt is connected an
episode in Mr. Poinsett's career as Minister in Mexico
which, as illustrating his cool courage and his chivalric
nature, as well as the prestige of the American name and
flag in foreign countries, is well worth repeating, although
it is doubtless familiar to many. The revolutionists had de-
termined to attack the National Palace, which is at one end
of the principal street (that of San Francisco), while the
Alameda, the public park, bounds the other. Having seized
the Alameda, the barracks, and the artillery, the mob ad-
vanced along this street towards the Palace. The houses
on each side were filled with Government troops, and many
of them were known to belong to families of Spaniards, or

36 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

of persons supposed to be friendly to the Government.
These houses were regularly besieged by the insurgents, and
many of them were taken and destroyed. Mr. Poinsett's
house was in this street, and while the conflict was raging,
Madame Yturrigaray, the widow of a former Spanish Vice-
roy, who was his neighbor, with some of her friends, all
Spaniards, sought the refuge and protection of the American
Embassy. The insurgents advanced to attack the house,
which they do not seem to have known to be that of the
American Minister, maddened by the story that was told
them that its proprietor had sheltered the hated Spaniards.
They attacked the gates which enclosed the court-yard and
clamored for the blood of their enemies. A musket-ball
which came through the window lodged in Mr. Poinsett's
cloak. At this moment Mr. Poinsett, accompanied by his
Secretary of Legation, Mr. John Mason, Jr., took the Ameri-
can flag, and, advancing with it in his hand to the balcony
of his house, displayed it for the first time before the eyes
of the thousands who were thirsting for his blood because he
had baulked their vengeance. He told them who he was, and
what nation that flag represented. Either because they rec-
ognized in that flag the emblem of the American power, or
because some among them knew Mr. Poinsett as a diplo-
matist who had always been a friend of their leaders, they
at once ceased their hostile attitude. The display of that
flag by its courageous upholder in the streets of the City
of Mexico changed at once the threatening temper of that
wild mob, and soon after it dispersed.

Mr. Poinsett's affiliation with the Freemasons in Mexico
proved a constant source of embarrassment to the success
of his mission in that country. It seems that he had been
long a member of the Masonic order here, and on his arrival
in the City of Mexico he was welcomed as a visitor to the
lodges with that cosmopolitan spirit of fraternity which is
characteristic of the Masonic body everywhere. The Mexi-
can Masons belonged to the " Scotch rite," while it seems
that in the hierarchy of Masonry the " York rite" holds a
higher rank. Mr. Poinsett explained this difference to his

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 37

associates, and told them, with that spirit of courtesy which
never failed him, that if it was agreeable to them he would
apply to the Masonic authorities in this country for a charter
to establish lodges in Mexico who should work accordiug
to the " York rite." The charter was granted and the
lodges duly organized under it. But, unfortunately, the
persons elected as members of the new lodges were nearly
all democrats, and opposed to the party in power. The old
lodges and the new soon formed two political camps, and
such was the bitterness and intensity of feeling at that time,
that they were looked upon by public opinion rather as
party organizations than as fraternal associations. Mr.
Poinsett's well-meant efforts to extend the Masonic rule in
Mexico was regarded by his enemies as an underhanded
effort on his part to give aid and encouragement to the dis-
affected. "When he found that he was being forced into the
position of a partisan leader through his connection with
this miserable squabble, he withdrew himself from all com-
munication with both bodies. But the mischief was done,
and his influence with the Government from that time was
very much lessened.

Mr. Poinsett negotiated a boundary treaty with the Mexi-
can Government and also a treaty of commerce, which was
not ratified because it contained a stipulation " that all per-
sons bound to labor taking refuge in Mexico should be
given up to their legal claimants." This is a noteworthy
event in the history of republicanism on this continent, for
it shows that the Mexicans even at that early date were at
least so far advanced in their political education that they
were unwilling to enact a fugitive-slave law even to oblige
the United States. It should be added, however, in order
to show how little public opinion at that time in other parts
of the world supported the pretension " that a slave could
not exist on Mexican soil," that Mr. Ward, the British Min-
ister, concluded about the same time with the Mexican
Government a treaty of commerce similar to ours, omitting
the stipulation in regard to fugitive slaves. When this
treaty was submitted to Mr. Canning, then the English

38 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

Foreign Secretary, he sent it back to Mexico, refusing to
ratify it until the Mexicans would agree to surrender not
only fugitive slaves but also apprentices from the West In-
dies and deserters from the English army and navy.

The annoyances and vexations which Mr. Poinsett suf-
fered in Mexico did not make him unmindful of the interest
felt by people here in the wonderful curiosities, natural and
archaeological, to be found in that country. He learned
how to propagate olive-trees, and sent many cuttings to be
planted in his own garden in South Carolina. He intro-
duced into this country that well-known and truly splendid
flower now called Poinsettia, of the order of PJuphorbiacece.
He sent to the American Philosophical Society in Philadel-
phia the original manuscript and the drawings from which
Captain du Paix had copied the materials for his magnifi-
cent work on the antiquities of Mexico, published in Paris
in 1834. For a long time the ruins depicted in this work
were regarded by the learned as antediluvian, an opinion
which, by the way, has since been wholly disproved by Mr.
John L. Stephens and other observers.

n.

Mr. Poinsett asked for his recall in 1829, and his request
was granted without difficulty. He reached this country at
a very critical period, the era of the nullification excitement,
and he prepared to take an active part in the controversy
as the champion of the Union party of his State. On his
arrival in Charleston he was received and welcomed by his
friends without distinction of party as a man who had done
honor to his native State. On inquiry he found that while
a large proportion of the inhabitants both in the city and
the State were dissatisfied with the duties levied by the tariff
of 1828, they wholly disapproved of the violent measures
proposed by the JSTullifiers in order to resist their payment,
but many of the leading men on the Union side seemed to
doubt whether it was possible to stay the torrent which was
sweeping the people of the State into an attitude of defiance
against the General Government. Mr. Poinsett, however,
was hopeful, and he tried to inspire hope in others. He sue-

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 39

ceeded so well that at the next election (in 1830), which was
conducted by both sides with great energy, the Union party
in the State was successful, electing a majority of the mem-
bers of the Legislature. His associates in this conflict bear
names identified with the history of Carolina as among the
most distinguished of her citizens,— Colonel William Dray-
ton, Judge Huger, James L. Petigru, Thomas S. Grimke,
the Richardsons of Sumter, Judge David Johnson, Judge
O'Neal, the Pringles, and a host of others. Mr. Poinsett
was elected Senator from the Charleston district. In Co-
lumbia he met face to face with his late violent opponents,
and although he and his friends maintained such pro-
nounced opinions in favor of the Union, such was the
character and bearing of the leading men on both sides, that
the wide difference of sentiment between them led to no
unseemly want of courtesy or even of cordiality in their
personal intercourse.

The position taken by the Nullifiers in their controversy
with the United States Government at the beginning, and
consistently maintained by them to its close, was simply this :
" That any one State may not only declare an act of Con-
gress void, but prohibit its execution ; that they may do this
consistently with the Constitution ; that the true construction
of that instrument permits a State to retain its place in the
Union, and yet be bound by no other of its laws than those
it may choose to consider as constitutional." It is to be re-
membered that Mr. Calhoun and his friends whom he had
convinced by his metaphysical subtleties always insisted
that the doctrine of nullification was remedial only and not
revolutionary, and that it was a reserved right (resembling
the tribunitian power in Rome) on the part of each State, to
be employed in the last resort to force the others to do it
justice. Against such a colossal heresy, as Mr. Madison
called it, the Union party, headed by Mr. Poinsett and his
friends, protested with extraordinary vigor for more than
three years, and they became, amidst many discouragements
and much personal danger, the warm supporters of the Gen-
eral Government in its efforts to maintain its authority in

40 The Life and Seimces of Joel R. Poinsett.

South Carolina as it did everywhere else throughout the
country. It should not be forgotten, too, that the Union
party was quite as much opposed to the provisions of the
tariff of 1828 as their opponents, but they looked for a
remedy to the methods prescribed by the Constitution of
the United States itself, and not to the annulling of a federal
law by the alleged sovereign power of one of the States.

The following: sketch of the events of the " Nullification
Era" in South Carolina, as it is called, written by Dr. Joseph
Johnson, a friend of Mr. Poinsett and an eye-witness of
most of the proceedings, seems so clear, accurate, and com-
plete, and explains so fully Mr. Poinsett's connection with
the movement, that we cannot do better than to present the
life-like picture which he has drawn to the reader :

" The foreign Enemies of our Commerce were hostile to
our manufacturing establishments, & tried to crush them by
various means. One of their plans was to deluge the
United States with the coarse fabricks of their establish-
ments. Protective Duties were imposed on all such impor-
tations. In some cases they were so heavy, as to exclude
such articles altogether, & thus produced an effect on Com-
merce unlooked for & not intended. The freights of vessels
returning from India & China were much reduced by the
exclusion of these bulky articles, & their Profits diminished.
The Southern States who were but slightly engaged in either
Commerce or Manufactures, had liberally voted taxes for the
encouragement of both, as national concerns. Their being
willing to sacrifice so much for the public good, roused the
manufacturers to impose much heavier Duties on most of
the Articles of which the South was the chief Consumer.
Many of those Articles were made to pay 40 ^ r C* on their
first Cost, & the Southern Orators in their declamatory ad-
dresses inflamed the minds of their hearers by asserting that
this was taking from them $40 out of every $100 which they
earnd by their daily labour. M r M c Dufiie insisted that the
Genr 1 Govern* imposed on the South these unequal and un-
just Taxes to oppress them, & by these imposts took from
every Cotton Planter, forty Bales of every hundred that he
could send to market. This was called M°Dufiie's forty
Bale Theory, & many believed it. In vain was it explained
to them by the Union Party, that this was an exaggerated

The Life mid Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 41

ZZ^In v^n grieV rf Wh J Ch n ° ° ne in the South ap-
?™I ^ *S WaS ? Sh0Wed t0 them > *at if this were

true they would now be obliged to pay from one third to
one half more for their blankets Clothing, Salt, Su'ar Tea
& coffee than they had always been a C & eustomed°to' pay
They all used they all bought, they all knew the former
cost of such things, & could readily say whether theyTow
paid more for them m any thing like that proportion stated
bv Ca houn M'Duffie, Hamilton, Hayne, Turnbu & others
of their public men. That as to the inequality of the Im
post, it was not possible to impose any Tax that mio-ht not
bear unequally on some State or State's, according Sits or
their peculiar habits or fashions. That every a?t of Con
gress extended alike oyer every State in thTlJi on & all
had equal rights to establish the Manufactories favored by
these imposts. That they were not imposed to favor any
Cr, ° f ou f r / OI ? m0 ?T Country, but to protect all the JJ.
States against foreign Nations, & prevent them from crush
mg our infant establishments by their overwhelminTcaS
their greater practical skill & experience, & the fmproved
cons ruction of their machinery/ That the South had an

in "tead'ff / ltb , the \ 0rth t° pr ° fit * these regulations, &
nstead of disputing about them with the North! to go & do

likewise to establish similar manufactories, and avail tW
selves of their black population-the cheaper description
of operators. The public mind became more & more ex-
cited against these heavy imposts, which unquesti ? onabfy
bore unequally on the South, as they were not manufaX
turersof the protected articles; & at the ensuiDg election
tt l^Zlo^^ * maj ° ritieS in b0th biSndffrf
" In 1828 at the Annual Meeting of the Legislature <i
r; ra a PP oi ^/ to consider & r°eport on Gov° erno ?Tay

IdoDted "t^^^^ 6 ^ 11 ? t0 the Tariffi A resolutio » wi
stitution.lHvl 1S ex P edieut t0 P rote «t against the uncon-
stitutionality & oppressive operation of the System of nro-

of the g Se^ e :'o & f ^W? ^fS r ° teSt entered °° the Journals
JJr T v at ? ° f the United States - Also t0 make a public
exposition of our wrongs & of the remedies within our
power & to communicate them to our Sister States with a

.TXWr^ 16 ^ this state in p^^rinS

a repeal of the Tariff for protection, & an abandonment of
the Principle, & if the repeal be not procured, that they will

theTv'r m SU mea8Ure8 aS ma ? hQ Gece sar ^ *™

42 The Life and Services of Joel E. Poinsett.

" This select Coin* 86 consisted of James Gregg, D. L. Ward-
law, Hugh S. Legare, Arthur P. Hayne, W m C. Preston, Will m
Elliott, & R' Barnwell Smith. They reported an Exposition
& Protest which was adopted on the 19 th of Dec r 1828, or-
dered to be printed & appeared in Pamphlet form early in
1829. These Pamphlets were diffused far and wide, read
by most people of reflection, & commented on in all the
public journals, variously according to the various opinions
of their editors or Patrons. The Report admitted that a
Tariff on Imports may be so arranged as to encourage man-
ufactures incidentally, by imposing duties for Revenue, on
articles now manufactured within the U. States : but asserted
that the Tariff of 1828 was not so arranged ; that it was un-
equal and oppressive on the South & S° Western parts of
the Union, and was not necessary for Revenue, but declared
to be for the promotion of manufactures. That the Protec-
tive System is therefore unjust, Oppressive, & unconstitu-
tional ; imposing such Duties on Commerce & Agriculture,
for the avowed purpose of promoting manufactures : & im-
posing them on the South to favor the interests of the
North. That it was unconstitutional, as it was not imposed
for the purpose of raising a Revenue, & ought to be resisted.
That each State in the Union is a Sovereignty, & has as
such a perfect right to judge for itself the violations of its
Rights, & a perfect right to determine the mode & measure
of its resistance. That in the present case Nullification is
the rightful Remedy, & if properly carried out, is sufficient
to protect South Carolina from the unconstitutional pro-
ceedings of Congress. 'They therefore solemnly protest
against the System of protecting Duties, lately adopted b>
the Federal Government.'

" No further measure was taken, at this session of the
Legislature, but the subject continued to agitate the public
mind, & the discussion was kept up with zeal & animation
on both sides. The Union men urged that whatever may
be the weight or inequality of the Tariff, they felt it in an
equal degree with their fellow Citizens of the other party.
That they too had endeavored to prevent it from being im-
posed to the present extent, but now that it was imposed,
resistance by force or unconstitutional measures, would only
make things worse, & perpetuate the evils of which they
complained. That in 1816 M r Calhoun & other influential
Southerners, with the best of motives, had brought forward
this System, & imposed prohibitory Duties on Coarse Cotton
Fabrics, usually imported from India, by which the Shipping

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 43

Interests of the North had suffered heavily. That although
they complained, they did not resist an Act of Congress,
imposed for the protection of manufactures of that descrip-
tion. Some of them withdrew a portion of their Capital
from Commerce & united in extending manufacturing estab-
lishments of various descriptions. They now find that these
new & finer fabrics require protection in proportion with the
first & coarser kinds.

" In these great changes the North did not all concur ;
they who had first adventured, feared that they would be
sufferers by the great competition in their own markets, &
the value of their Stock on hand be depressed. A meeting
of Merchants & Manufacturers in Boston was held in Nov*
1827. They showed how much they were opposed, and on
what strong grounds to such sudden & such great Changes ;
such interference by Congress in the Concerns of Trade &
manufactures. The Union men concurred in the impolicy of
such measures as were pursued, but as to their being uncon-
stitutional, there were strong grounds for a different opinion.
That in the Administration of Gen 1 "Washington in a Con-
gress mostly composed of those who had been members of
the Convention, in which that Constitution had been
framed, discussed & adopted; the second Act of that Con-
gress, had the following Preamble ' "Whereas it is necessary
for the support of Government, for the discharge of the
Debts of the U. States, & for the protection & encourage-
ment of Manufactures, that Duties be laid on Goods, "Wares
& Merchandise be it therefore enacted.' This Act was sanc-
tioned & signed by President Washington & its principles
adopted. Although the Federal Party lost their influence
at the close of M r J. Adams' Administration, this doctrine
of Protection to Manufactures continued among the Demo-
crats who succeeded his Administration, & was advocated by
Jefferson, Madison & Monroe.

" Gov r Miller's term as Governor of S° C a passed off with
some increase in the proportion of Nullification Representa-
tives & in his declaration of ' the Right to Fight.' The oth r "
Southern States appealed to in the exposition of S° Carolii
would not countenance or unite with them in Nullificatio
doctrines. It was demonstrated that such Duties were paid
by the Consumers of the Articles thus taxed, and by each
portion of the Union in proportion to the population of such
Consumers in that portion. That the Northern portions
were much more populous than the South, & the adjoining
States to S° C a much more populous than herself, therefore

44 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

greater consumers in proportion & that they would not unite
in her Crusade. They considered S° Ca B too sensitive of her
grievances, and trusted that these however oppressive and
offensive could be & would be remedied by constitutional
measures much better than by force. That as to the Perfect
Sovereignty of the State— this existed previous to the adop-
tion of "the Federal Constitution, but a part of it was then
o-iven up by each State to the Federal Government, to obtain
their Guarantee of all their other public & private Rights.
Under that Constitution all the States yielded their Sov-
ei«m Rights to inlist Troops, to declare & carry on War ; to
make Peace; to negotiate Treaties with foreign nations; to
regulate Commerce ; to coin Money; to issue Bills of Credit;
to°establish a Federal Court ; & to impose Duties & Taxes
on Goods, Wares & Merchandise. The obligations thus
assumed by the Federal Government on the grant of these
powers, embraced yet another viz that all the States should
possess' equal rights and privileges; and this carried with it
an Obligation to prevent any State from assuming Rights &
Privileges not enjoyed by all or any of the Rest. That the
Federal Gov* was thus bound to prevent S° Car' from enjoy-
ing her assumption of Rights, under the Nullification Acts
& Ordinance.

" James Hamilton J r was elected Governor m Dec r 1830.
The so called American System continued in its strength,
notwithstanding these statements & remonstrances, & on
the 14 th of July 1832 an Act was passed called an Amend-
ment of the Tariff. It indeed altered some of the Imposts
by increasing those on articles consumed in the South, &
reduced those only that were mostly used in the North. It
was still more oppressive on the South & rendered the dis-
satisfied desperate. In Octob r Gov 1 Hamilton issued a Proc-
lamation convening an Extra Session of the Legislature of
S° C\ They met accordingly on the 22 d Octob 1 1832 & the
Governors message was delivered on the same day. In it
he says, ' The Tariff Act of 1832 is in point of Fact a Law
by which the consumption of the manufacturing States is
nearly relieved of all burdens on those Articles which they
consume & do not produce, & under the provisions of which
they are secured in a bounty, on an average of more than fifty
*§ r C fc on the productions of their Industry, whilst it taxes
our consumption to an equivalent amount, & the exchange-
able value of our products in a much more aggravated
ratio.' 'Articles of Luxury are selected as the Objects of
comparative exemption from all burden, whilst those of

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 45

PrS 88it J w r ? ear X the w £ ole brunt of the Imposts. Iron,
Cotton & Woolen fabrics, Salt & Sugar are burthened with
a lax quite equivalent to an average of seventy five «' C<
on the first Cost; whilst the Teas, the Coffees, the Silks &

n h!!Z th ? RlCh ' ^7 a m ? St Un J USt ^crimination
m then favor Levying at least three fourths of the whole

SET* °«A he > Fe i eml RevenUe on the industl T of the
Southern States.' He concludes by recommending the im-
mediate call of a Convention, <as it was in every respect
desirable that our issue with the General Government
should be made before the meeting of Congress ' '

tJi«wT+ aC + t wa J accordingly passed, ordering an election of
Delegates to a State Convention. < The number of Delegates
from each election District, to be the same as the prfsent
united^ Re P resentatives and Senators in the Legislature
"The ratification of the Convention Bill was followed

?iwtr\ * ft % d ^Y g f ° f Cannon and Music from
Doodle ' ( ^ Pr ° P0 ^ Stmck up ' Yankee

" The Union Party in S° Car 8 very properly considered this
Convention of the State a Critical movement, pregnant with
dangerous consequences. They therefore also called a con-
vention of the Union Party to be held at the same time &
place. m The Members of the two Conventions met accord-
ingly in their separate Places; they eyed each other with
suspicion at meeting in the Street, bowed coolly but politely
& were evidently on the watch if either should commit itself
by intemperate or illegal acts. The Union Members of the
tetate Convention offered objections to the legality of its
constitution— the members having been elected as if for
laxation representing Property & persons not as Delegates
IrT a u ? e °P le m a Primary Assembly. But this & all other
difficulties were promptly overruled by the opposite Party,
who followed their leaders. An Ordinance was ^accordingly
ratified ' for Arresting the operation of certain Acts of the
Congress of the U. States, purporting to be laws laying;
duties & imposts on the importation of Foreign Commodi-
ties. ±0 this Ordinance was attached an address to the
people of S° Car* said to have been written by Rob' L Turn-
b. rriS <* Jf other to the people of the U. States written
by Gen. M'Dufhe & prefixed to the whole was an exposition

1 it

'In this he announces 'We have resolved that until these abuses
shall be reformed,' no more Taxes shall be paid here."

46 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

or Introduction written by Gen 1 R' Y. Hayne. The Ordi-
nance itself is said to have been drawn up by Judge W m
Harper. It was signed by Gov r Hamilton & by all the State
Eights' Members of the Convention 136 in number. The
Legislature met in a few days after the Ordinance was pub-
lished. Gov' Hamilton's Message urged on them the duty
of providing for inforcing that Ordinance.

" They accordingly passed the Replevin Act — To carry
into effect in part an Ordinance to Nullify certain Acts of
Congress &C &C— Also ' the Test Oath Act' by which all
Officers Civil & Military, were required to take the Oath or
lose their Offices. Also An Act to regulate the Militia, &
another to provide for the Security & protection of the State
of S° Carolina.

" These energetic Measures did not proceed without ex-
citing suitable attention & corresponding measures, both in
the Union Party of S° Car a , & in the heads of the Federal
Govern'. The Administration employed agents in Columbia
who silently condensed the transactions of each day & sent
the dispatch off every night to Wash'gton, under cover to
a person or name there, who was unknown or could not be
suspected. The Union Convention continued its meetings
also in Columbia, & on the 14 th Dec r 1832 adopted an address
& series of Resolutions exposing the illegality & injustice of
the measures lately adopted by the Party in power. Among
many other objections it declared those measures not only
revolutionary but essentially belligerent, & that the Natural con-
sequences would be Disunion & Civil War. That it betrays
all the features of an odious Tyranny to those Officers Civil
& Military, who holding their appointments legally, accord-
ing to the Laws & Constitution of S° Car a , were suddenly
excluded, without impeachment, trial or conviction, by the
new imposition of a Test Oath. To the members of the
Union Party opposed to these Nullification Measures, who
amount to the respectable Minority of more than 17,000
votes these measures are equally despotic, oppressive, & im-
politic. These measures produce irreconcilable opposition,
in the bosom of their own State, with that large & respect-
able Minority, who being equally opposed to the oppressive
Tariff, cannot unite in such measures to effect its repeal.
' Disclaiming all intention of lawless or insurrectionary vio-
lence, they hereby proclaim their determination to protect
their Rights by all legal & constitutional means, unless com-
pelled to throw these aside by intolerable oppression.' This
document was published with the signatures of 182 of the

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett 47

Union members, headed by their Presid* the Venerable
Thomas Taylor of Columbia.

" The Inaugural Address of Gov r Hayne on the 10 th Dec*
1832 was in his usual fluent & happ}^ style but replete with
denunciations against the Federal Govern 4 & vaunted State
Rights & the perfect Sovereignty of South Carolina. He
then told the assembled Senate & House of Representatives,
that it was their Duty to provide for carrying fully into ef-
fect the Ordinance of the Convention & defend it with their
lives.

" The Legislature accordingly proceeded to pass the fol-
lowing Acts :

"An Act concerning the Oath required by the Ordinance
passed in Convention at Columbia on the 24 th day of No-
vemb r 1832, which imposed the Test Oath on all Officers,
Civil & Military, in S° Carolina.

" An Act to carry into effect in part, An Ordinance to nul-
lify certain Acts of the Congress of the U. S., purporting to
be Laws laying Duties on the importation of foreign Com-
modities, from & after the 1 st day of Feby 1833.

"An Act to provide for the security & protection of the
People of the State of S° Carolina, by which the Governor
was authorised to accept Volunteers & to call out the Militia
for the purpose of resisting any attempt of the Federal Gov-
ernment to inforce the payment of Duties on importations,
either by an overt act of coercion, or by an unusual assem-
blage of naval or military forces, in or near the State.
Also to authorise a Replevin on all such seizures by officers
of the Federal Government.

" On the receipt of these Documents, Presid 1 Jackson
issued a Proclamation to the people of S. Carolina & sent a
message to the two houses of Congress. In the Proclama-
tion he appeals to their Reason, Patriotism, & Sense of Pro-
priety, & then declared his determination to inforce the Laws
of the U. States notwithstanding the measures adopted in
S° Carolina. It was dated 16 th Jan'y 1833, very ably drawn
up & believed to have been written by the then Secretary
of State Edward Livingston. The Legislature of S° Carol*
being then in Session, Gov r Hayne sent them these Docu-
ments from "Washington & with them, his own Proclama-
tion. The House of Representatives in S° Car* referred the
whole to their Com tee on Federal Relations, & adopted a
series of Resolutions, commenting on the Course of Pro-
ceedings & confirming their own determination to resist.
Having received lately about $200,000 from the Fed 1 Govern*,

48 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

as a balance due to S° Car% the Legislature voted the whole
of it for the purchase of Arms & other Munitions of War. 1
" Here then was S° Carolina completely at issue with the
Federal Government, both arming for attack & defence.
Presid* Jackson ordered seven Revenue Cutters & the Sloop
of War Natchez Com: Zantzinger to rendezvous in Cha'ton
Harbor — the whole under the command of Commodore
Elliot. He likewise ordered 700 additional U. S. Troops
to rendezvous at Cha B ton & garrison the Forts, all of which
were in possession of the Gen 1 Govern*: the whole were
under the Command of Gen 1 Scott. A Company of U. S.
troops had for five or six years occupied the Citadel in
Cha 8 ton. They were called upon to give it up, & they
promptly complied. The Officers of the State & of the
General Govern* were polite to each other, but it was other-
wise with the two parties of the Inhabitants, the Union men
& the ISTullifyers. They had many irritating occurrences at
their Elections — blows & broken heads were not uncommon,
& some Duels occurred. When Volunteers were called out
by the State to ' suppress Insurrection & Treason, they knew
that such charges could not apply to the Govern* Troops ;
& that however unjust to the Union Party hitherto, they
now felt that they must enrol themselves for self protec-
tion. They appointed a Central Com tBe of which M r Poin-
sett was the Ch r man. The military divisions were soon ar-
ranged, the Officers selected, & the places of rendezvous
assigned to each Company. A sufficiency of arms & ammu-
nition was obtained from Gen 1 Scott, & distributed subject
to the call of the Union Officers respectively. Both Parties
had their separate respective places of meeting, for harmo-
nious consultation & arrangements. One of these Places
occupied by the Union men was conspired against by a
large body of the Nullifyers & the entrance surrounded at
night. Several of their most respectable leaders tried to
prevent it but could not, — the public mind was much ex-
cited ; they sent to M r Poinsett apprising him of it, asking
him to persuade his friends to retire by a different entrance
from that in common use, but M r P. returned an Answer
that they would defend themselves if assailed. Anticipating

1 " In conformity with Gov r Haynes Orders, the Adj 1 General John B.
Earle issued his proclamation for Volunteers ' to suppress insurrection,
repel invasion & support the Civil Authorities in the execution of the
Laws.' The Governor likewise issued Circular Orders to each Eegiment
to examine & Report suitable Depots for Provisions &C, on the most
direct routes from their several Muster Grounds towards Charleston."

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 49

such an occurrence, he had provided strips of white Cotton
to be tied on the right arm of each Union man that they
might be known to each other in a mtUe ; he also prov ded
from a Coopers Shop the but ends of their hoop P poTes a.
Sticks to arm his party. He & Col W- Drayton were aS
pointed by acclamation for the Command, & they Selected
other persons as Lieu- to command each a Squad These
arrangements were soon perfected, & the Union Party
marched out three abreast in fine order. Mai chin? no
King Street they found themselves followed by the crowd
ot Nullifyers, that they had passed at the plLe of tW

A demfnde T d h thYt n Z *** ^ ^ ^kfst^
^demanded that their opponents should immediatelv dis
perse or they ^should be attacked by the Union men The
Nulhfyers did accordingly disperse, but there w?re amt
them many disposed to be mischievous. WhTle the tw f
parties were facing each other almost within react .three
of the Union Leaders Mess™ Petigru, Drayton & Poinsett

i;r ed l fri bu ? from unkno ™ ^ who im:

mediately sneaked into the crowd for concealment; The
(rentlemen were not much hurt.

ni'^A* J*™ * F& ^y found {t necessary to establish Ward

were assailed. On one occasion the Nullify ers succeeded

Pan^oTfou^oTr 011 8tati ^' & ? eat & m - used ^0^
one of t£ f • r ? ccasions the y were repulsed, & in

firfrf • + 1 °", a 81 ? gle S un loaded wit ^ small shot was

few felt VfiZ^ °V 'f? b l f ° re ^ Would -tire ;°some
tew telt it & it was a hint to the rest, but it did no harm

In these collisions the Officers & Leaders of the Zlifyers
£ f f 0d faith ^ Prevent them, & sooth the angry feel-
ings on both sides; but in order to keep up a distinction-
they recommended that their men should al? wear in theb

blurbulfol" 1 " ° 0Ckade ' ° f a C ° nical S^Pe-calTed the

the' SlnL^f w ^l Governme nt were stationed thus;

outh of P Easf^ i^ 2 n lthin ^ Snot of ^ Batter^
south ot Last Bay, & the Cutters about Cablelen<rth from

each other in a line North of the Natchez; except One o?
S the P °* ^ d er Captain Jackson which fay in the
Anchorage between Forts Moultrie & Castle plnckney

oTa Ma^n^fw' 1118 ^ 081 ' 1011 ' the Arm ^ent & disciple
? % , £ f Y ar became an 0b Ject of Curiositv to the
etch'dav fhr tlemen °^ ^arlestoi At certain Tours of
each day, they were politely welcomed on board, and every

50 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

part of the Ship freely thrown open to them. No distinction
was made between those of the two Parties, unless when a
blue button appeared, & then the Officers of the Ship were
very polite to the wearer (an acknowledged Nullifyer). The
Visiters on board were entertained with Promenades about
the Decks, & then with Music, Dancing & Refreshments,
Fruits, &C. The Guns of the Forts were understood to be
well found, & ready for action if necessary, with Mortars
in Castle Pinckney for throwing Shells into Charleston,
whenever hostilities might commence. A Battery of heavy
Cannon was likewise constructed N° East of the City on
Smiths Wharf, then hired as a Naval Station, & the Guns
pointed against the Citadel & against the Causeway in
Meet'g S' Road, by which it was understood that the State
troops would be marched into Cha a ton, & stationed at & in
the Citadel.

" The Nullifyers & State Authorities were likewise pre-
paring for the Ultima Ratio, under their Laws & Ordinances.
Arms, Ammunition & Provisions were provided & distrib-
uted to the different selected Stations in & out of Charles-
ton, except where from the election returns, it was found
that a Majority of the Union Party unquestionably existed.
Volunteers were accepted, armed, & trained in all the other
portions of the State, & held under Orders that they should
be ready at a moments warning, to march into Cha"ton
which it was well understood would be the battle ground in
case of hostilities. Among those organized in Cha'ton was
a body of Artillerists under Col. J. L. Wilson, who had a
battery of heavy Cannon on Magwoods Wharf command-
ing the rear of Castle Pinckney, the channel of Cooper
River, & Hog Island Channel. By means of the Test Oath
they had got clear of many of the Militia Officers in the low
& middle Country, who as Union men had refused to take that
Oath, & their places had been supplied with enthusiasts in
their Cause. The State Officers held all the Stores, depots
& arms in every part of the State, the northern & eastern
Districts excepted. Here, the majority of Union men was
so great that the Officers either refused to resign, or if they
resigned were sure of being reelected. 1

1 " About this time many strangers were in Charleston & among them
some attracted by curiosity, to witness the impending events. At the
Balls which were then given, Ladies of both parties were invited recip-
rocally ; some of them attended each others parties & were welcomed
with polite attentions; the Gentlemen were much more shy of each
other. On one occasion a gallant young Nullifyer exclaimed 'The
ladies are all for Union— to a man.' Not all said a young Lady

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 51

"At this Crisis another effort was made to prevent the
payment of Duties on imported Goods. A fast-sail'g vessel
was expected in Port, & her owner agreed to try & force her
up to the "Wharves where her cargo might be rapidly landed
& dispersed before the Custom h. Officers could have the
means of preventing it. Orders had been issued to Cap*
Jackson of the Cutter Polk, to bring every vessel to Anchor
arriving from a foreign Port, until a signal was made from
the Custom H — that the Duties had been secured according
to Law. One of the Pilots was engaged to run up this Ves-
sel to the City notwithstanding the opposition of the Reve-
nue Cutter. He accordingly disregarded the Revenue Cutter
& crowded all sail to pass up. Cap' Jackson pursued & over-
took her but the Pilot would not obey his Order to come to.
He then ran the Cutter along side & leaped upon the Ships
deck; still the Pilot held his course, & did not quit the helm
until he saw the drawn sword of Cap* Jackson raised against
his life. The Ship was then put about, brought back to her
place of anchorage, & detained there until the Duties were
secured, & a signal given from the Custom house to allow
her to pass up. One of the State Rights Party was overheard
saying — 'they are too strong for us, but we must strike a
blow, we may still take one of their Forts or Vessels, & will
do so before we surrender.' Notice of this intention was
given to the U. S. Officers that they might not be taken by
surprise. Accordingly in a dark night a large Canoe fitted
for 12 or 14 Oarsmen was observed rowing up astern of the
Cutter Polk, as she lay at anchor, with her netting all hoisted
& her watch on the look out. Only a few men appeared row-
ing the boat who on being hailed answered like Country
negroes, and were ordered off. They however pulled the
stronger in the same direction, until threatened to be fired
into. They then perceived that the matches were lighted,
the lanterns burning, & the boarding Nets hoisted, and the
Cannon pointed at the Canoe. They then rowed off and
reported progress.

" One of the most talented & influential of the State Rights
leaders, not satisfied with the representations that every thing
had been tried in vain, came down from Columbia to see &
judge for himself. He went on board of the Natchez with

promptly. I will have nothing to do with the Union. But said a
friend at her elbow, you know that you would like to capture that hand-
some U. S. Officer. . . . Oh said the fair Carolinian, I only wish to bring
him over to our side ; to your own side you mean, rejoined her discerning
friend."

52 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

others, & thought with reason that everything was there put
in order for the public eye. He also hired a boat & went
about the harbour inspecting the location & state of prepara-
tion, at different times of day & night. In one of these trips,
he passed close to the Natchez while all were under arms, &
practising a Sham-fight, or naval engagement. They were
all at the moment repelling supposed boarders; with the
Netting hoisted, a part of the Crew were thrusting their
boarding Pikes through it ; some were working the Cannon
with lighted matches, — the Marines were firing in Platoons
from the Quarter Deck & Tops, while others on the Spars
were ready to light & throw their hand Grenades. The
Gentleman was perfectly satisfied & in a few days the Circus
Meetg was convened.

" The Central Com* 6 ' had frequent consultations with the
Army & Navy commanders on various interesting subjects ;
concerted with them the Signals to be given & returned on
various occurrences, & what would be expected of the Union
Party in case of an attack. It was agreed that in such an
event the Union Party should seize the Alarm Gun & Church
Bells, & take possession of the Guardhouse. It was also
agreed that if unable to hold the City, they should seize on
the Peninsula of Hampstead about a mile N° E. of Cha'ton
& intrench themselves there.

" The Central Com* 66 had also frequent confidential meet
ings by themselves. On one occasion a measure was pro-
posed, which at first view appeared very plausible to several
of them. M r Petigru prudently remarked that they should
be very careful to keep their proceedings within the Law.
That this was their surest protection against the other Party,
who would probably commit themselves by some hasty or
lawless Act. This observation probably led to the appeals
made to the Courts of Law for cooler considerations, all of
which resulted against the nullifying or State R* Party. The
first of these was on a Custom-house Bond given for the Du-
ties on an importation of "plains." The Signer & Securities
of the Bond objected to the payment on different Pleas,
wishing the question of their liability to be submitted to a
Jury, which Jury would not decide in favor of the U. S.
Government. The cause was very ably argued before Judge
Lee U. S. Dis* C by the Dis' Atty. Gilchrist & M r Petigru
against such reference ; & advocated by W. P. Finley &
Geo. M°Dufiie. The Judge decided against the Pleas —
the handwriting of the different signers on the Bond was
then proved, & a verdict given in favor of the Govern*.

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 53

An appeal was entered, & all the notes, proceedings & argu-
ments submitted to Judge W m Johnson, then in bad health
in North Carolina. He confirmed the decision of Judge
Lee, & the Bond was finally paid. This was a Trial of
great interest to both Parties. M r M°Duffie of very high
reputation for talents, was sent for & came down from
Abbe-ville to engage in the defence, & M r Petigru volun-
teered in behalf of the Union Party to aid M r Gilchrist
the then District Attorney in prosecuting the Suit.

" Two other causes arose in the State Circuit Courts, &
were both carried by appeal up to the Supreme Court.
These both originated in the Test Oath Act. Both were
argued ably in Columbia at the Court of Appeals. Judges
O'Neal & Dav d Johnson decided against the constitutionality
of the Test Oath. Judge Harper was in favor of it, but did
not enter upon much argument on the subject.

" It will be recollected that in the Ordinance of the Con-
vention & in the Act of the S° Car a Legislature dated Dec*
1832 it was provided that no Duties should be paid on Impor-
tations from foreign Countries into S° Car* after the l rt
Feby 1833. These were published as the Laws of S° Car*,
which none could violate with impunity, & none but the
Courts of Law could set aside. Notwithstanding the for-
mality & force of these enactments, a number of the State
Rights Party in Cha'ton resolved to hold a Meeting of
their Associates on the 21 st Jany 1833, only ten days pre-
ceding the time appointed by the high Authorities of the
State, for resisting the Power of the Union in collecting the
duties on such importations. That informal Party meeting
resolved that such resistance was inexpedient at that time,
& must be postponed until the adjournment of the next
Congress. That meeting of only a part of the State Rights
Party, resolved to nullify the proceedings of their whole
Party, in the Convention & in the Legislature, & to suspend
the execution of their euactraents ; & this nullification was
acquiesced in by the rest of their party. 1

1 " A direct attempt to evade the payment of Duties to the Government
about this time was made by Gen 1 Ja a Hamilton. He shipped some of his
own Rice to Havannah & ordered the proceeds to be returned in Sugar.
The Sugar arrived & the Vessel was brought to anchor in the appointed
place, by the Vigilant Captain of the Cutter. Gen 1 Hamilton would
not enter or bond it, or pay the Duties hoping that it would be landed
in Cha'ton & he obtain possession by some means. But M r Pringle the
Collector arranged it otherwise, he ordered the Sugar to be landed
on Sullivan's Island & stored in Fort Moultrie in one of its arched
entrances. Hamilton had been heard saying to some of his Adherents,

54 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

" At this time the State of Virginia resolved to mediate
& appease the dissensions in S° Car a , & sent for that pur-
pose one of her most distinguished Citizens Benj n "Watkins
Leigh to bear the Olive Branch. He arrived on the 4 th
Feby & proceeded with great tact & judgment. He was
kindly & courteously received by both of the contending
Parties, & mediated personally with the most distinguished
leaders on both sides. Great deference & respect was
paid to him not only for his personal worth, but as an es-
pecial Messenger from the State of Virginia. It was accord-
ingly arranged that another Convention should be convened,
& that no violent measures should be pursued in the in-
terim. The Convention met accordingly on the 11 th March
1833 & Gov. Hayne brought the business before them by
inclosing the friendly & flattering letter which he had re-
ceived from M r Leigh — Commissioner from Virginia. This
was referred to a Com 168 of 21, who promptly reported an
Ordinance repealing the Ordinance of ]STov r 1832, & this
was adopted by the Convention. But many of the members
could not divest themselves of the irritation long enter-
tained, & of their purposes defeated. These were leveled
against the Union Party, & of their sense of obligation of
allegiance to the Federal Government. Some warm discus-
sion ensued & some intemperate expressions used, but the
majority concurred in accepting M r Clay's Bill which had
passed in Congress, as a compromise of their difference
with the Federal Government.

" But as to the Law imposing a Test Oath, the State Rights
Party were disappointed in its validity by the decisions of
the Courts. They therefore determined so to amend the
Constitution as to require of every one holding an Office,
that he should previously take an Oath that his Allegiance
to S° Carolina would be considered by him paramount to
all other obligations. A clause to this effect actually passed
the Legislature in Nov 1 1833 but as an Amendment of the
Constitution, it was necessary that the same should be recon-
sidered & ratified at another session of the Legislature.
The prospect of this becoming a part of the Constitution
alarmed the Union Party in S° C* particularly in the North-
ern parts of the State, lest they should be involved by it in
Disunion, & cease to be Citizens of the United States, or
fail to be protected in case of need by the Federal Gov*.

' We will have to fight for that Sugar.' He no doubt hoped for some
opportunity to do so, but none offered & after the Compromise he paid
the Duty & storage, on which the Sugars were given up to him.''

The Life and Semices of Joel R. Poinsett. 55

The Union Party determined to resist this change in the
Constitution, & if it should finally pass, that they would
appeal to arms in defence of their Rights as American
Citizens. Spartanburgh was appointed as their place of
Rendezvous, & in this state of anxious suspense they awaited
the Legislative Action. The Central Corn' 89 determined to
try the effect of personal influence, talent & address to pre-
vent the impending evils of Civil War. They appointed
M r J. L. Petigru & Col. R. Blanding to meet their former
friends at the Session in Columbia and prevent if possible
the contemplated enactment. They attended accordingly &
in personal interviews and conferences with Gen 1 Ja 8 Ham-
ilton & other influential persons of the State Rights Party,
they finally succeeded but with great difficulty. The Clause
adopted at the previous meeting of the Legislature as an
amendment of the Constitution, was insisted on by its
former advocates, it could neither be rejected nor altered,
but they consented that the following Proviso should be
appended as a part of it. ' Provided however that noth-
ing expressed in the above obligation shall be construed to
impair the Allegiance of any Citizen of S° Carolina to the
Federal Government.' Or words to that effect, for by some
obliquity in the Record or in the Publication of the Laws,
this Proviso has not been printed with the Ratification.

"Both parties assented to this compromise Peace was again
restored to S° Carolina & Gen 1 M c Duflie was elected Gover-
nor in Dec r 1834."

The foregoing account presents a vivid picture of the po-
sition taken by the Union men in South Carolina during the
Nullification excitement. Nothing is more remarkable about
it than the spirit of obedience which they showed for the
supreme law of the land, because it was the law, and their
determination to appeal for relief to the law only as it had
been administered among them from the period of the adop-
tion of the Constitution, as well as their unwillingness to
rouse revolutionary passions in the conflict. The action of
their State had not merely made void an act of Congress, —
creating an alleged grievance from which the rest of the
country suffered in common with them, — but its effect was to
deny them the protection of their own courts and virtually
to disfranchise them. Under these trying circumstances they
were bold but not boastful, and, unmoved by the clamor of

56 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

their former friends and neighbors, they formed the strongest
support to the General Government when it put forth its
strong arm to help them. A good deal of their forbearance
and determination to confine their action within the strict
limits of the law was due to the personal character of their
leaders. They belonged to the very elite of that social aris-
tocracy which held undisputed sway in Carolina up to the
period of the war of the rebellion, and their opponents,
whose chiefs were of the same class, and who had known
them well during their whole lives, always recognized not
merely the force and earnestness of their convictions, but
also their personal courage and the perfect purity and in-
tegrity of their motives.

In considering their methods of resistance to the law-
less acts of the Nullifiers, the first question for the Union
men to determine was how far and in what way they would
be supported by the General Government. All parties in
South Carolina had concurred in voting for General Jack-
son as President in 1828, and he was well known at that
time to have favored the enactment of a tariff law which
would levy only such an amount of money as would suffice
to defray the expenses of the Government and pay the in-
terest on the public debt. The intending Nullifiers during
the year 1830, well knowing General Jackson's opposition
to the " American system," as it was called, spread far and
wide the report not only that the President and many of
his personal and political friends sympathized with them in
their opposition to a protective tariff, but also that he would
hesitate to execute a Federal law in South Carolina which
the people of that State should declare to be inoperative
within her borders. The first thing, therefore, naturally
was to ascertain the exact position of the President on this
question. Mr. Poinsett, as their leader and organ, accord-
ingly wrote the following letter to President Jackson :

" Charleston 23 Oct'. 1830
" Dear Sir

" When we parted at Washington in May last, I men-
tioned to you, that I was returning to Carolina in order to

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 57

oppose, by every influence I might possess there, the strange
and pernicious doctrines advanced by some of the leading
men of our state and which, if not counteracted might
lead to the most serious and fatal consequences. On that
occasion I understood you to say, that you regarded them
as ' utter madness ;' and I left Washington in the firm con-
viction, that I was acting in conformity with your wishes
and for the good of our common country in controverting
doctrines, which I regard as subversive of the best interests
of that country, and in declaring myself opposed to princi-
ples which, if they could be detected in the letter or spirit
of our constitution by any subtlety of the human intellect,
would render that instrument a worthless document, would
entirely destroy the practical utility of our confederation
and convert our bond of union into a rope of sand.

" On my arrival in Columbia, where I went in order to
ascertain the extent of the evil, and that my sentiments
might be more generally known throughout the State, I
found the public mind poisoned by the opinions uttered at
Washington by our leading politicians there, and by the
pernicious doctrines of the President of the College, D r .
Cooper, whose talents and great acquirements give weight
to his perverse principles, and make him doubly dangerous.
On conversing confidentially with several old and valued
friends in that place I found that they too, deprecated the
measures proposed to be adopted as a remedy against the
operation of the tariff" law; but regarded opposition as hope-
less against such an array as had declared in favor of nullifica-
tion. I found the same sentiments prevailing and the same
fears entertained among the moderate men in Charleston ;
but after frequent conferences with my friends Judge Huger,
M r . Petigru, M r . Pringle, D r . Johnson and others it was re-
solved at all hazards to organize an opposition to schemes
which we considered likely to prove so ruinous in their
consequences. In this determination we were confirmed
and very much aided by Col. Drayton's honorable and pub-
lic declaration of his sentiments in favor of the union.

"The Nullifiers try to make us believe that the union
party are acting against your wishes. This has been
already and on several occasions broadly asserted by the
advocates of the rights of the states to nullify the laws of
the general government and besides the respectable names
of the Vice Prest., of W. M°Duflie, Gen 1 Hayne and
Major Hamilton we have had to contend against these as-
sertions of your views on this question, which the censure

58 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

or dismissal of M r Pringle would tend to confirm, for he is
I believe the only officer of the general gov. in Charleston
in favor of the Union party. The opposition which was
commenced in Charleston has been extended throughout
the rest of the state and the favorable result of the elec-
tions leads us to hope, that we shall prevent the call of a
convention, which might have ended in an act of insurrec-
tion, for I can regard in no other light the consequences of
this state nullifying an act of Congress. It has been as-
serted of us that we have been induced to oppose ourselves
to these doctrines because we are in favor of M r . Clay and
of the American system. This M r . President is not so. M r .
Clay and his system have no partizans in this state & so en-
tirely do we rely upon your wisdom and sense of justice
that we hoped that you would finally obtain for us a modi-
fication of the system w b really is injurious and oppressive
in its operation upon us. We severally and universally
desire, that you should consent to serve another term."

It seems, however, that a similar letter referring to the

rumor prevalent in South Carolina had been written about

the same time to the President by Mr. Kobert Oliver, of

Baltimore. To this letter General Jackson at once replied,

and his answer may be regarded as intended not only for

him but for Mr. Poinsett also.

" Washington, Octobr. 26 th 1830

"Dear Sir

" I had the honour this evening to receive your letter of
the 25 th instant with its enclosure and agreeable to your
request herewith return it, with a tender of my thanks for
this token of your friendship & regard.

" I had supposed that every one acquainted with me knew
that I was opposed to the nulifying Doctrine, and my toast
at the JefTerson dinner was sufficient evidence of the fact.
I am convinced there is not one member of Congress who
is not convinced of this fact for on all occasions I have been
open & free upon this subject. The South Carolinians, as
a whole, are too patriotic to adopt such mad projects as the
nulifyers of that State propose.

" That M r Van Buren should be suspected of such opinions
is equally strange.

" I am sir with great respect

" & regard, your mo obdt servt

"Andrew Jackson

" Robert Oliver Esq."

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 59

The " Jefferson dinner" to which General Jackson refers
was an entertainment given on the 15th of April, 1880, in
"Washington, to celebrate Mr. Jefferson's birthday. The
occasion was secretly and adroitly taken advantage of by
the Nullifiers and those who sympathized with them to
obtain from the leaders of the Democratic party in Wash-
ington, and especially from the members of the Cabinet, an
expression of opinion that their proceedings would not be
interfered with by the General Government. The President
was a guest at this dinner, and he was not long in discover-
ing what was expected of him by many of those present.
He is said to have sat stern and silent, evidently trying hard
to suppress the violent emotions which agitated him. He
found relief when called upon for a toast, when he rose and
said calmly but most earnestly to the astounded assembly
who had hoped to entrap him, " The Federal Union — it
must be preserved." The Vice-President, Mr. Calhoun,
was then called upon, and this was his toast: " The Union,
— next to our liberty the most dear. May we all remember
that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the
States, and distributing equally the benefit and the burthen
of the Union."

The day of this Jefferson celebration seems to me one of
the most noteworthy in our history. On that day the issue
between the Union and the Disunion parties was distinctly
and finally made up ; each party prepared for the inevitable
conflict, and each knew under what leader it would serve.
General Jackson's honesty and inflexible will were even then
pretty well understood by those friends and foes who had for
their own reasons studied his character, and it became now
clear to all that the Union men in South Carolina, in their
struggle for the supremacy of the Federal law, would be
supported by the whole force of the General Government,
with the President at its head. The Nullifiers had foiled
utterly in securing that sympathy of the administration
upon which they had so fully counted. They were so much
discouraged and disappointed that, although violent and
revolutionary talk was still the fashion in South Carolina,

60 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

no active efforts were made there to carry out their plans
until more than two years later. Meanwhile, the Union
party in South Carolina was much encouraged in organizing
its powers of resistance.

In July, 1832, Congress passed an act reducing the duties
levied by the tariff of 1828 on certain articles, and remov-
ing them entirely from tea, coffee, etc., by which it was cal-
culated that the revenue from customs would be reduced
three or four millions of dollars, or from twenty to twenty-
five per cent. When Congress met in December, 1832, it
was proposed by the Committee of Ways and Means still
further to reduce the revenue levied under the act of 1828
about thirteen millions of dollars. General Jackson was
re-elected President by a great majority in the autumn of
1832, and a sufficiently large number of members of the
Congress which was to meet in December, 1833, had been
chosen at the same time to render it apparent that the anti-
tariff party would be largely in the majority in that Con-
gress. Notwithstanding all these concessions present and
prospective to the Free-trade party, and apparently in total
contempt for the spirit of conciliation which was manifested
by them in every part of the country, the leaders in South
Carolina determined upon revolutionary proceedings. These
proceedings, no doubt, confirmed the belief which had
widely prevailed, that the cause of discontent in that State
lay far deeper than the tariff, and that its removal would
not remedy it. On the 24th of November, 1832, the con-
vention in South Carolina adopted the ordinance of nullifi-
cation and threatened secession, and the Legislature imme-
diately afterwards passed laws to enforce its provisions.
These measures are so fully described in Dr. Johnson's
narrative that it is not necessary to explain them further
here. Their effect was not only to place the State in a
hostile attitude to the Government of the United States,
but also to place those citizens of the State who were loyal
to the Union beyond the pale of the protection of the State
laws. Under these circumstances the Union men of South
Carolina, through Mr. Poinsett, appealed to the Government

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 61

for advice as to the course which they as supporters of the
Union should pursue, and for aid in resisting these measures
should it become necessary. How this appeal was met by
the President is best told in the eight letters addressed by
him to Mr. Poinsett, which, as far as we know, are now
printed for the first time. It is thought better to give them
in a connected series as presenting the most faithful picture
of the attitude of the President during the whole of this
unhappy dispute, from the beginning until all danger of
an armed resistance to the execution of the laws of the
United States had passed away. As soon as the ordinance
of nullification reached the President, he issued, on the 10th
of December, 1832, his proclamation denouncing the revo-
lutionary proceedings in South Carolina, and expressing his
determination to execute the laws of the Government of the
United States. Early in January he sent a special message
to Congress asking that specific powers should be given
him to close any port in South Carolina where armed re-
sistance should be made to the collection of import duties,
and during such suspension to establish custom-houses in
places on land or on naval vessels in harbors where such
resistance was not to be expected. The Judiciary Commit-
tee reported a bill, commonly called the "Force Bill,"
giving him the powers he asked for, but this bill was not
passed until the close of the session in March. Indeed,
from the view which General Jackson had of his duty it
was hardly necessary. The President, as will be seen by
his letters, needed no act of Congress either to shield him
from responsibility or to give him authority to perform the
constitutional duty he had assumed " faithfully to execute
the laws." But the story is best told in his letters :

(No. 1.)

" (Confidential)

., -p. „ " Washington, Nov br 7 th 1832.

" Dear Sir,

" This will be handed to you by my young friend George
Breathitt Esqr, brother of the present Governor of Ken-

62 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

tucky, in whom every confidence may be reposed. I beg
leave to make him known to you as such.

" M r Breathitt goes to your state & city as agent for the
post office Depart, he bears instructions from the secretary
of the Treasury to the collector of Charleston, but we want
him only known as agent of the Post office.

" I wish him to see the F ta and revenue cutters in your
harbour and to visit Sullivan's Island. This to be done
merely as a stranger having curiosity to examine your capa-
city for defence and facilities for commerce, to your polite
aid I recomend him for this object.

" I have instructed him to obtain the real intentions of
the nullifyers whether they mean really to resort to force to
prevent the collection of the revenue and to resist the due
execution of the laws and if so what proof exists to show
that the imputations against important individuals and offi-
cers of the government in being engaged in advising, aiding
and abetting in this threatened nullification and rebellious
course are true.

" It is desirable that the Executive should be in posses-
sion of all the evidence on these points, and I have referred
Mr. Breathitt to you & Col. Drayton believing that you will
afford him all the knowledge you possess.

" Mr. Breathitt is charged with the enquiry what officers,
if any, in the Customs or post office Department belong to
or have adhered to the Nullifyers— and the character of Mr.
Pruson Simpson from whom I have rec d a long letter to
day, and all & every information of the views and measures
of the Nullifyers which they mean to adopt.

" We have been looking for some information from some
friend of the Union in that quarter but have hitherto been
disappointed, but it appears a crisis is about to approach
when the government must act, & that with energy — my
own astonishment is that my fellow citizens of S° Carolina
should be so far deluded, by the wild theory and sophistry
of a few ambitious demagogues, as to place themselves in
the attitude of rebellion against their Government, and be-
come the destroyers of their own prosperity^ and liberty.
There appears in their whole proceedings nothing but mad-
ness and folly. If grievances do exist there are constitu-
tional means to redress them— Patriots would seek those
means only.

" The duty of the Executive is a plain one, the laws will
be executed and the Union preserved by all the constitu-
tional and legal means he is invested with, and I rely with

The Life and Services of Joel 12. Poinsett. 63

great confidence on the support of every honest patriot in
S° Carolina who really loves his country and the prosperity
and happiness we enjoy under our happy and peaceful re-
publican government.

"By the return of Mr. Breathitt I shall expect to hear from
you.

" With my sincere regards

" I am yr mo. ob dt serv 4

_, " Andrew Jackson

" Joel Poinsett Escf."

(No. 2.)
"MY D- SIR, " December 2< 1832.

"Your two letters of Nov. 24 & 25 th last have been
received and I hasten to answer them.

t " I / ull 7 concur with you in your views of nullification.
It leads directly to civil war and bloodshed and deserves the
execration of every friend of the country. Should the civil
power with your aid as a posse comitatus prove not strono-
enough to carry into effect the laws of the Union you have a
right to call upon the Government for aid and the executive
will yield, it as far as he has been vested with the power by
the constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof.

"The precautionary measures spoken of in your last
letter have been in some degree anticipated. Five thousand
stand of muskets with corresponding equipments have been
ordered to Castle Pinckney ; and a Sloop of war with a
smaller armed vessel (the Experiment) will reach Charles-
ton harbor in due time. The commanding officer of Castle
Pinckney will be instructed by the Secretary of War to
deliver the arms and their equipment to your order, takino-
a receipt for them and should the emergency arise he wifl
furnish to your requisition such ordnance and ordnance
stores as can be spared from the arsenals.

" The Union must be preserved and its laws duly executed,
but by proper means. With calmness and firmness such as
becomes those who are conscious of being right and are
conscious of the support of public opinion we must perform
our duties without suspecting that there are those around us
desiring to tempt us with the wrong. We must act as the
instruments of the law and if force is offered to us in that
capacity then we shall repel it with the certainty, that
even should we fall as individuals the friends of liberty and
union will still be strong enough to prostrate their enemies.

64 The Life and Services of Joel It. Poinsett.

Your Union men should act in concert. Their designation
as Unionists should teach them to be prepared for every
emergency : and inspire them with the energy to overcome
any impediment that may be thrown in the way of the laws
of their constitution, whose cause is now not only their cause
but that of free institutions throughout the world. They
should recollect that perpetuity is stamped upon the consti-
tution by the blood of our Fathers, by those who achieved
as well as those who improved our system of free Govern-
ment. For this purpose was the principle of amendment
inserted in the constitution which all have sworn to support
and in violation of which no state or states have the right to
secede, much less to dissolve the union. Nullification there-
fore means insurrection and war ; and the other states have
a right to put it down. And you also and all other peace-
able citizens have a right to aid in the same patriotic object
when summoned by the violated laws of the land. Should
an emergency occur for the arms before the order of the
Secretary of War to the commanding officer to deliverthem
to your order, show this to him & he will yield a compliance

" I am great haste

" Y r ms ob dt servt.

"Andrew Jackson

'•J. R. Poinsett Esq 1 ."

(No. 3.)

Dec br 9 th 1832, Washington.

" My D b Sir,

"Your letters were this moment reed, from the hands
of Col. Drayton, read & duly considered, and in haste I
reply. The true spirit of patriotism that they breathe
fills me with pleasure. If the Union party unite with you,
heart & hand in the text you have laid down, you will not
only preserve the Union, but save our native state, from
that ruin and disgrace into which her treasonable leaders
have attempted to plunge her. All the means in my power,
I will employ to enable her own citizens, those faithful
patriots, who cling to the union, to put it down.

" The proclamation I have this day issued, & which I en-
close you, will give you my views; Of the treasonable con-
duct of the convention & the Governors recommendation
to the assembly— it is not merely rebellion, but the act of
raising troops positive treason, and I am assured by all the
members of congress with whom I have conversed that I
will be sustained by congress. If so I will meet it at the

The IAfe and Services of Joel H. Poinsett. 65

threshold, and have the leaders arrested and arraigned for
treason — I am only waiting to be furnished with the acts
of your Legislature, to make a communication to congress,
ask the means necessary to carry my proclamation into
complete effect, and by an exemplary punishment of those
leaders for treason so unprovoked, put down this rebellion,
& strengthen our happy Government both at home and
abroad.

" My former letter & the communication from the Dept
of "War, will have informed you of the arms and equipments
having been laid in Deposit subject to your requisition, to
aid the civil authority in the due execution of the law,
whenever called on as the posse comitatus $-c $c.

" The vain threats of resistance by those who have raised
the standard of rebellion show their madness & folly. You
may assure those patriots, who cling to their country, &
this Union, which alone secures our liberty & prosperity
and happiness, that in forty days, I can have within the
limits of S° Carolina fifty thousand men, and in forty days
more another fifty thousand. How impotent the threat
of resistance with only a population of 250,000 whites &
nearly that double in blacks, with our ships in the port, to
aid in the execution of our laws ! The wickedness, mad-
ness & folly of the leaders and the delusion of their followers,
in the attempt to destroy themselves and our union has not
its paralell in the history of the world — The Union will be
preserved. The safety of the republic, the supreme law,
which will be promptly obeyed by me.

"I will be happy to hear from you often, thro' Col.
Mason or his son, if you think the post office unsafe.

" I am with sincere respect

" Y r mo. obdt. servt.
"Andrew Jackson

" Mr Poinsett"

" (Private)

(No. 4.)

" Washington, Jan 1 * 16 th 1833.
" My D b Sir,

" This day I have communicated to both houses of Con-
gress the Enclosed message, which has been referred to the
committees on the judiciary, who, we have a right to be-
lieve, will promptly report a bill giving all the power asked
for.

" I have rec d several letters from gentlemen in S° Caro-

5

66 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

lina, requesting to be famished with the means of defence.
M r I Graham, an old revolutionary patriot, a M r Harrison
and Col Levy— I have requested Genl Blair to inform Col
Levy to apply to you & I request that you will make it
known confidentially, that when necessary, you are author-
ized, & will furnish the necessary means of defence.

" Mr. Calhoun let off a little of his ire against me to day
in the Senate, but was so agitated, & confused that he made
quite a failure, was replied to, with great dignity & firmness,
by Major Forsyth — Calhoun finds himself between Scylla &
Charybdis & is reckless— My great desire is that the union
men may put nullification & secession down in S° Carolina
themselves and save the character of the state, & add there-
by to the stability of our Union— you can rely on every aid
that I can give— only advise me of the action of the nulli-
fyers— The moment they are in hostile array in opposition
to the execution of the laws, let it be certified to me, by the
att y for the District or the Judge, and I will forthwith order
the leaders prosecuted, & arrested— if the Marshal is resisted
by 12,000 bayonets, I will have his possee 24,000 — but the
moment this rebellious faction finds it is opposed by the
good people of that state, with a resolution becoming free
men and worthy the name of Americans and under the pro-
tection of the union it will yield to the power of the land,
and they will return to their obedience.

" I write in great haste, late at night, and much fatigued,
& indisposed by a bad cold— You will excuse this scrawl it
is for your own eye — write me often, ^ give me the earliest
intelligence of the first armed force that appears in the field
to sustain the ordinance— The first act of treason committed,
unites to it, all those who have aided & abetted in the execu-
tion to the act— we will strike at the head and demolish the
monster, Nullification & secession, at the threshold by the

power of the law.

" I am very respectfully

" yr mo. ob dt servt

" Andrew Jackson

" Joel R. Poinsett EsqV

(No. 5.)

Washington January 24 th 1833.

"My Dear Sir,

" I have rec d yours of the 16 th 19 th & 20 th instant, that of
the 16 th late last night & hasten to reply by the return ex-
press which will leave here early to-morrow.

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 67

" My Message to Congress, forwarded to you by the last
express was referred to the committee in each house, on the
judiciary — that of the Senate has reported a bill which you
will receive from the secretary of the Treasury by the con-
veyance that will hand you this — you will see from a perusal,
that it contains, with the powers you possessed, every
authority necessary to enable the executive to execute the
revenue laws, and protect your citizens engaged in their sup-
port, & to punish all who may attempt to resist their execu-
tion by force. This bill has been made the order of the day
for Monday next, and altho this delay has been submitted
to by the Senate, still I have no doubt but it will pass by a
very large majority in both Houses — There will be some
intemperate discussion on the bill & on Calhoun's and
Grundy's resolutions.

" It was my duty to make known to Congress, being in
session, the state of the Union ; I withheld to the last
moment to give Congress time to act before the first of
February — Having clone my duty in this respect, should
Congress fail to act on the bill, and I shall be informed of
the illegal assemblage of an armed force with intention to
oppose the execution of the revenue laws, under the late
ordinance of S° Carolina, I stand — prepared forthwith to issue
my proclamation warning them to disperse. Should they
fail to comply with the proclamation, I will forthwith call
into the field, such a force as will overawe resistance, put
treason & rebellion down without blood, and arrest and hand
over to the judiciary for trial and punishment, the leaders,
exciters and promoters of this rebellion & treason.

" You need not fear the assemblage of a large force at
Charleston — give me early information, officially, of the
assemblage of a force armed, to carry into effect the ordi-
nance & laws, nullifying our revenue laws, and to prevent
their execution, and in ten or fifteen days at farthest I will
have in Charleston from ten to fifteen thousand men well
organized troops, well equipped for the field — and twenty
thousand, or thirty, more, in the interior. I have a tender of
volunteers from every state in the Union — I can, if need be,
which God forbid, march two hundred thousand men in
forty days to quell any, & every insurrection, or rebellion
that might arise to threaten our glorious confederacy &
Union, upon which our liberty prosperity & happiness rest.

" I repeat to the union men again fear not, the union will
be preserved & treason and rebellion promptly put down,
when, & where it may show its monster head. You may rest

(38 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

assured that the nullies of Carolina will receive no aid from
any quarter — They have been encouraged by a few from
Georgia and Virginia, but the united voice of the yeomanry
of the country and the tender of volunteers from every
state have put this down — They well know I will execute the
laws, and that the whole people will support me in it, and
preserve the Union. . Even if the Governor of Virginia
should have the folly to attempt to prevent the Militia from
marching thro' his state to put the faction in S° Carolina
down & place himself at the head of an armed force for
such a wicked purpose, I would arrest him at the head of
his troops, & hand him over to the civil authority for trial.
The voluntiers of his own state would enable me to do this. I
repeat again, my pride and desire is, that the Union men may
arouse & sustain the majesty of the constitution & the laws,
and save my native state from that disgrace that the Nulli-
fiers have brought upon her. Give me early intelligence of
the assemblage of an armed force anywhere in the state,
under the ordinance & the laws to nullify & resist the revenue
laws of the United States, and you may rest assured I will
act promptly and do my duty to God and my country, &
relieve the good citizens of that despotism & tyranny, under
which the supporters of the Union now labour.

"On yesterday the tariii' bill (Verplancks) would have
passed the House of representatives had it not have been for
a very insulting & irritating speech by Wilde of Georgia
which has thrown the whole of Pennsylvania New York
& Ohio into a flame — I am told there is great excitement,
and no hopes now of its passing this session. It is further
believed that the speech was made for this purpose, at the
instigation of the nullies, who wish no accommodation of
the tariff — This will unite the whole people against the
nullifiers, & instead of carrying the South with the nullies,
will have the effect to arouse them against them when it is
discovered their object is nothing but disunion. The House
sat late & I have not heard from it since 7 o'clock — I must
refer you to M r M°Lane for further information as it is very
late & my eyes grow dim — keep me well advised & con-
stantly — The arms are placed subject to your requisition,
and under your discretion I keep no copy, nor have I time
to correct this letter —

" In haste very respectfully

" " Your Friend

" Andrew Jackson

" J. R. Poinsett Esq r ."

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 69

(No. 6.)

"Washington City February 7 th 1833.

" D B Sir,

" Yours of the 27 th and 28 th ultimo have been handed me
by M r Smith— that of the 30 th thro' Col. Drayton has also
been rec d . Their contents being considered I hasten to reply.

" The nullifiers in your state have placed themselves thus
far in the wrong. They must be kept there notwithstanding
all their tyranny and blustering conduct, until some act of
force is committed or there is an assemblage of an armed
force by the orders of your Governor under the ordinance
and Replevin laws to resist the execution of the laws of the
United States. The Executive of the United States has no
legal and constitutional power to order the Militia into the
field to suppress it until that time, and not then, until his
proclamation commanding the insurgents to disperse has
been issued. But this you may rely on, will be promptly
done by the President the moment he is advised by proper
affidavits that such is the condition of your state. You should
not therefore fear the result of the movement anticipated from
the upper country for the purpose of enforcing the odious
and despotic writ in withernam should it really be made.

" Keep me advised of the first actual assemblage of an
armed force in the upper part of your state, or in any other
part of it, or in any part of the adjoining states, and before
it reaches you I shall interpose a force for your protection
and that of the city strong enough to overwhelm any effort
to obstruct the execution of the laws. But bear in mind
the fact that this step must be consequent upon the actual
assemblage of such a force, or upon some overt act of its
commission. In this event which I trust in God will not
happen, I will act and with firmness, promptness and effi-
ciency.

" I sincerely lament that there is a contingency so probable
which menaces the safety of those who are acting with you
to sustain the Union and laws of our happy country. But
let what will happen remain at your post in the performance
of this the highest of all duties. Be firm in the support
of the Union : it is the sheet anchor of our liberty and
prosperity — dissolve it and our fate will be that of unhappy
Mexico. But it cannot be dissolved : the national voice from
Maine to Louisiana with a unanimity and resolution never
before exceeded declares that it shall be preserved, and
those who are assailing it under the guise of nullification
and secession shall be consigned to contempt and infamy.

70 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

" In resisting the tyrannic measures by which the ruling
party in S° Carolina have proposed to obstruct the laws of
the Union, you are thrown back upon the right of self
defence. Deprived of the protection guaranteed to you by
your own constitution, violent resistance to the tyranny
which thus oppresses you becomes a duty, and in the per-
formance of it the constitution and the laws of the United
States will be your shield. Do not doubt that this shield
will be upheld with all the power which I am or may be
authorised to use.

" As soon as I am notified that the hostile array which you
anticipate has been made the positions recommended as
proper to be occupied for defence will be taken. Of this
fact let me be notified by an express who will bring the
proper evidences of it.

" I have regretted that your convention did not, as such,
memorialise Congress to extend to you the guarantee of
the constitution, of a republican form of Government,
stating the actual despotism which now controls the state.
The action of Congress on the subject would have placed
your situation before the whole Union, and filled the heart
of every true lover of his country and its liberties with
indignation.

"I can order the regular troops to take any position
which may be found necessary : but your own advice has
been to ' do nothing to irritate.' "When the crisis comes and
I issue my proclamation, authority will be given to embody
all volunteers enrolled for the support and execution of the
laws, and the officers of the same of their own selection
will be sanctioned by the president, as has been usual upon
the receipt of the muster rolls.

" It has just been mentioned to me that a bet has been
taken by a man supposed to be in the secrets of the nulli-
fiers that the convention will be called and the odious or-
dinance repealed. God grant that this may be true. Let
not this hope however lessen your watchfulness or your ex-
ertions — my pride is to save the character of my native
state by the patriotism of its own citizens. Firmness on
your part will do this.

" The Tariff will be reduced to the wants of the Govern-
ment if not at this session of congress certainly at the next.

"Referring you to Mr. Smith I close this hasty scrawl
with my prayers for yr happiness

" Andrew Jackson

" J. K. Poinsett Esq"."

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 71

(No. 7.)
" (Private;

" Washington February 17 th 1833.
" My Dear Sir,

" I have just received your letter of the 9 th instant, I
never once thought, that the mission of M r Leigh, with his
powers, would be attended with any beneficial result what-
ever : It has only served to place the legislature of Virginia
in a disagreeable attitude, and has done more harm than
it can good. Had Virginia passed resolutions disapproving,
as she has done, nullification, and admonishing the nullifiers
to retrace their steps, this would have done much good, and
instead of encouraging them in expecting her aid, would
have caused them to have repealed their ordinance. The
great body of the people of Virginia are firmly opposed to
the course of the Legislature in this respect, and will sup-
port the United States nobly, should the crisis come, which
I trust the firmness of the Union men may yet prevent.

" The bill granting the powers asked will pass into a law.
M r Webster replied to M r Calhoun yesterday, and, it is said,
demolished him. It is believed by more than one, that M r
C. is in a state of dementation — his speech was a perfect
failure; and M r Webster handled him as a child. I fear
we have many nullifiers in Congress, who dare not openly
appear ; — the vote on the pending bill will unrobe them.

" I am delighted to learn that you will convene the Union
Convention simultaneously with that of the nullifiers, or
soon after. A bold and resolute stand will put them down,
and you will thereby save the character of your State.
"When you recollect the noble cause you are defending, —
that our precious union is the stake, — that the arm of the
United States, sustained by nineteen twentieths of the whole
people, is extended over you, — you cannot be otherwise than
firm, resolute and inflexible. One resolution, — that you nail
the United States colours to the mast, and will go down
with the Union or live free ; that you will, to your last
breath, resist the tyranny and oppression of their ordinance,
test oath and unconstitutional proceedings, will restore to
you peace and tranquility, which a well adjusted tariff will
confirm.

" Before the receipt of your letter M r . Livingston had an
interview with M r Bankhead on the subject of the conduct
of the British consul at Charleston. M r Bankhead has
written & admonished him that his exequatur will be revoked
on his first act of interference. This I assure you, will be

72 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

done. I have only to request that you will give us the
earliest intelligence that you can obtain of his having ordered
a British squadron to the port of Charleston ; and on an
affidavit of the fact of one arriving there, his exequatur will
be revoked.

" Keep me constantly advised of all movements in bouth
Carolina,— the marshalling troops to oppose the execution
of the laws of the U. States, affirmed on affidavit, and I will
forthwith use all my powers under the constitution and the

laws to put it down.

" with great respect

« Y r friend
"Andrew Jackson
" J. R. Poinsett Esq*"

(No. 8.)

" Washington, March 6, 1833.

"My Dear Sir,

" Your letters of the 22 nd & 28 th ultimo are both before me,
and I hasten to give you a reply by Col. Drayton, who leaves
in the morning.

I rejoice at the firmness lately evinced by the Union party.
The Bill more effectually securing the collection of the
revenue, or, as some call it, the enforcing Bill has passed the
House of Rep's by the unparalleled majority of 102. I say
unparalleled because it has not happened, according to my
recollection, in the course of our legislation, that any meas-
ure, so violently contested as this has been, has been sustained
by such a vote. This Bill gives the death blow to Nullifica-
tion or Secession, and, if the Nullifiers of your state have
any regard for the Union, or the bold, but respectful ex-
pression of the peoples determination, that the laws shall be
executed, and that no state shall secede at her will and pleasure,
there will be no difficulty.

The Tariff Bill has also become a law, but was not passed
until after the collection Bill. The passage of the Collection
Bill proves to the world the fixed determination of Congress
to execute, as far as their action was necessary, the laws
passed in pursuance of the Constitution. I have always
thought that Congress should reduce the Tariff to the wants
of the Government, and the passage of such a Bill became
peculiarly proper after Congress had, by the passage of
the " enforcing' Bill, so fully shewn to the world that she
was not to be deterred by a faction, which, if found in rebel-
lion and treason, she was prepared to crush in an instant.

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 73

" The Bill which has passed is not of the exact character
which I would have preferred, but it is hoped that it may
have a good effect in the South, as most, if not all, of her
prominent men gave it their support.

« Congress displayed, after shewing how little it regarded
the threats of some South Carolinians a proper sense of
justice to the people by making the reduction they did
and to that extent, relieving the people of useless taxation.'
I am happy to learn that you intend moving on pari
?assu : with the nullification party, and that your convention
is called to meet at Charleston to be prepared to act if
necessary, in support of the Union. '

"The stake is an important one, and the retention of it
worthy the patriots best, and noblest efforts. If lost the
world may bid adieu to liberty and all that is dear to free-

III L 1 1 .

. " Should the nullifies be rash enough to attempt seces-
sion and form a constitution and submit it to the people
surely no one would countenance such an unauthorized act
by voting on the question. I do not doubt but that those
who love their country and our happy union would, in such
event, be united to a man in their maintenance, and that
the union convention would come forth in the majesty of
her strength-which consists in the justice of her cause and
the will of the people— in denunciation of such an unholv
procedure. J

" I have only time to say one word on the Subject of the
union members attending the nullifying convention. Mv
opinion is that they ought to attend, but upon this condi-
tion that they present, with boldness and talent, the tyrannical
wicked and unconstitutional proceedings of the JSTulliners
to the world, in all their naked deformity. The union party
will always gain by coming in open contact with the STulli-

"Keason must, when exercised, always triumph over
error. Witness Calhoun's defeat in the Senate. If the
nullifyingconvention determine on secession, and forming a
new constitution the Union members ought, after entering
their solemn protest against the proceedings immediately
withdraw, and forthwith join the Union convention, which
ought then to issue its proclamation, or determination, to
adhere to, and support the Union of these United States to
the last extremity. '

" I must refer you to Col. Drayton for the news of the
city. Heep me constantly advised of matters relating to

74 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

the conduct or movements of the nullifiers, and all will be
well, and the federal union preserved.

" T r Friend

" Andrew Jackson

" J. R. Poinsett Esq*."

These letters of General Jackson seem to me strikingly
characteristic of the man. They are clear, bold, and de-
cided in their tone, beginning, it will be observed, with a
certain calm dignity, and then swelling with a crescendo of
passionate indignation as the thought of the crime with
which he is dealing fires his heart. They leave no doubt
either as to his sentiments or his intentions. The cloud of
sophistry, which the disunionists had thrown around the re-
lations between the General Government and that of the
States and the obligations of obedience to the supreme law
of the land, disappears as it comes in contact with the strong,
practical common sense of the President. In the position
which he occupied he could see but one duty which he was
called upon to perform, and that was to take care that the
laws should be faithfully executed. His views of his duty
may have been narrow, but they were exceedingly clear. In
these letters there is not one word of sympathy for those
who have taken revolutionary methods of righting what he
in common with them regarded as a grievance. He makes
no excuse or apology for any one who has been involved in
the guilt of rebellion, and he waits only for the overt act,
which shall make their act treasonable, to order their arrest
and trial. He is so carried away by the earnestness of his
desire to suppress armed resistance to the execution of the
laws that he is utterly unyielding, even at times stern and
pitiless. His business is not to advise or suggest com-
promises, still less to conciliate, but to act. He goes so
far as to maintain that although an act of Congress may be
useful in authorizing him to close the ports, yet that no
such act is necessary to empower him to execute his con-
stitutional duty of enforcing the execution of existing laws.
Yet he had no design or intention of doing any arbitrary
or illegal act. His duty he looked upon as completed when

The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett. 75

he arrested traitors against the government, even, as he
says, " the Governor of Virginia at the head of his troops,"
and handed them over to the courts, to be there tried and
punished for their treason.

It may readily be conceived how these letters must have
cheered and encouraged Mr. Poinsett and his friends and
colleagues, the leaders of the Union party in South Carolina.
The military forces of the State had been rapidly organized
under its authority, and thousands of armed men from the
country districts burned with impatience to sweep down
upon Charleston and seize there the men who were loyal to
the Union. During the early months of 1833 it cannot be
doubted that the position of these men was one of great
personal danger. They looked upon the measures which
had been adopted by the General Government for the de-
fence of Charleston (which are so graphically described in
Dr. Johnson's narrative) as inadequate, and in their anxiety
they naturally complained that the Government seemed
slow in coming to their relief. The letters of two of these
leaders, Mr. Poinsett and Judge Huger, at this crisis have
been preserved, and they show how great was the alarm
and how well-founded were their fears of danger. 1 These
letters were addressed to Colonel Drayton, at that time a
member of the House of Representatives from the Charles-
ton district, — a man who did more and suffered more for
the cause of the Union in those trying times than any other
inhabitant of the State, — and it was intended that they
should be laid before the President for his information and
guidance. Some extracts from these letters may be given
as disclosing the actual condition of affairs as it appeared to
these leaders of what then seemed to be a " forlorn hope."

On the 8th of January, 1833, Mr. Poinsett writes :

1 1 am indebted to my friend Mr. Heyward Drayton for the letters
which were addressed by Messrs. Poinsett and Huger to his father.
These letters complete the secret and confidential correspondence be-
tween the chiefs of the Union party in 1832-33. It is a little singular
that these letters, coming from such different quarters, should find a
common resting-place in Philadelphia, and that they should now be used
for the first time to vindicate the course taken by their authors.

76 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

" I am afraid that all hope of putting down nullification
in this State by moral force must be abandoned — I most
sincerely hope the vain blustering of these madmen will
not influence the deliberations of Congress upon the tariff.
Here a hope is cherished that nothing will be done in the
matter this year as such a concession would confirm the
power & the popularity of the Kullifiers of the State. I do
not share this sentiment. Such a result is of minor im-
portance. Let us destroy the monster, and try conclusions
with these men afterwards. I am glad to hear your opinion
of the sentiments of Congress respecting the secession of
the State. I go for practical results rather than for meta-
physical abstract rights. If a State should be allowed to
secede our gov' is at an end."

He then adds significantly, —

" I should like to have one hundred sabres, and as many
pairs of pistols sent to the commanding officer here."

On the 16th of January he writes to Colonel Drayton, —

" I observe that you say that you have urged the Pres*
not to interfere with our party by affording them the aid
of the Federal troops under existing circumstances. But what
are we to do if Charleston is filled with Nullifiers from the
country? The regular troops, Municipal and Magazine
guards will consist of 150 men divided into two companies.
The artillery is in the hands of our opponents, and even if
we had ordnance we have no artillery men. Five thousand
men have Volunteered, and those from Richland & Sumter
are anxious to be brought down to insult us . . .

" Is not raising, embodying and marching men to oppose
the laws of the United States an overt act of treason?
Ought not such acts to authorise the interference of the
Executive ? I have no hope & see no means by which the
revenue laws can be enforced by legal process &c."

Many other letters from Mr. Poinsett might be given, all
showing an earnest desire on his part that a sufficiently large
Federal force should be sent to South Caiolina, ready to act
the moment the Nullifiers should begin hostilities. The
letters of General Jackson were written to reassure him
and his friends that the whole force of the Government
would be employed to sustain them.

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 77

Another of Colonel Drayton's correspondents was Judge
Daniel E. Huger. He was a most conspicuous man in
South Carolina, an earnest leader of the Union party there,
and, like all the others, had many friends and relatives
on the other side. He took a somewhat different view
of the subject of Federal armed intervention from Mr.
Poinsett.

In a letter dated December 17, 1832, Judge Huger, after
explaining that the Union Convention at Columbia did not
call upon the President for protection lest such an appeal
should " Exasperate the Nullifiers," goes on to say, —

" I trust in God that the President will not use the means
he confessedly has, but will leave to Congress the deter-
mination of the course to be pursued. Not that I would
have our noble President flinch from responsibility, but
Congress is regarded as the People of the United States.
From their course there could be no appeal, and this would
dampen very much the spirit of our opponents."

Again, in another letter of the same date, he says, —

" The great body of the Union party, at this moment, are
unwilling to look to the Gov* for protection, and I confess
for one that I would prefer defending ourselves, and only in
the last extremity accept of Federal assistance. I am aware
how dangerous this course is. I do not like the idea of
having our opponents put down by force. If the parties
take the field, the Gov* might be used as an auxiliary with-
out offending the State pride of our people, but if the Gov*
be principal in the war, our people will join most reluctantly
if they join at all. The Gov*, of course, must do its duty ;
the revenue laws, I suppose, must be enforced, but disabuse,
if you can, the President of any wish on our part to have
forces marched into this State with a view to our protection.
We would rather suffer much than see our countrymen
dragooned."

It was perhaps well for the peace of the country at that
time, that these conflicting opinions of the leaders of the
Union party in South Carolina, as to the nature and amount
of coercion which it was expedient to use in order to secure

78 The Life and Services of Joel B. Poinsett.

obedience to the laws, were reviewed by the cool and saga-
cious judgment of Colonel Drayton before they were sub-
mitted to the President. Between the urgent appeals of
Mr. Poinsett for the immediate use of force enough to effect
the object, and the strange kind of force advocated by Judge
Huger, half principal and half auxiliary (a truly Southern
definition of force, by the way), and the inflexible deter-
mination of the President to employ force of any kind,
"principal or auxiliary," or both, to compass his ends,
which were the execution of the laws and the punishment
of rebels against their authority, Colonel Drayton must have
been sorely perplexed how to satisfy all parties. But he proved
himself a negotiator and diplomatist worthy of the occasion.
He had some peculiar qualifications for such an onice. He
had proved himself during a long course of public service a
man of such high honor and such unimpeached integrity
that he was at that time not only respected but trusted by
all parties. He was deeply impressed with the soundness
of the political views held by the Union party, he knew
well the lawlessness and madness of the Nullifiers, and he
could not help seeing that if obedience to the laws of the
United States was to be secured, force must be in the last
resort employed. But with the far-seeing sagacity of a
statesman, and with a certain tender regard for the mis-
guided men of his own State, he thought that the ultima
ratio should be postponed until every other method of
compelling obedience had been exhausted.

With these views he turned his attention first to removing
the great obstacle to peace, — the provisions of the Tariff Acts
of 1828 and 1832. On the 9th of February, 1833, he pro-
posed an amendment to the pending bill of Mr. Verplanck,
reducing the rate of duties one-third after the 2d of March,
1834, and although his proposition was then rejected by the
House, its introduction none the less marks the beginning
of the compromise system which was afterwards adopted
as a modus vivendi by both Houses. In a letter to Mr. Poin-
sett of that date, he thus explains the motives that led to
his action :

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 79

" Should what I have proposed become a law the accumu-
lation of the surplus revenue would be prevented, the rate
of protection would be diminished, and an interval would be
allowed for the manufacturers to save themselves from the
losses which they would sustain by an instantaneous removal
of the protective duties. For the sake of South Carolina as
she is, I would not make the slightest effort to reduce the
protective duties. On the contrary, I should be opposed to
legislating altogether at this time unless by doing so a result
might be accomplished which might deprive the Nullifiers
of their means of doing mischief by conciliating those States
whose co-operation they are desirous of obtaining, and
without whose co-operation they must be sensible that their
revolutionary plans would fail."

Meanwhile, Colonel Drayton had submitted to the Presi-
dent the views of Judge Huger. On the 31st of December
he writes to Mr. Poinsett, —

" I have had several conversations with the President &
proposed to him not to interfere with our party by affording
them the aid of the Federal troops under existing circum-
stances, & he acquiesces in the policy of this forbearance,
observing that he hopes to see the patriots of S. Carolina
put down sedition & rebellion themselves. So soon as the
laws passed by our late legislature in conformity with the
directions of the Ordinance shall reach here a special message,
I presume, will be sent by the Pres* to Congress. Congress
will then have this distracting subject before them, and
unless I labor under the darkest error, the majority of Con-
gress will not permit South Carolina peaceably to secede from
the Union."

As time went on, and the JSTullifiers grew more bold and
defiant, Colonel Drayton was forced to regard armed inter-
vention as a measure becoming more probable every day.
But his loyalty to the Union never grew cool even when
submitted to the crucial test of coercion should it be found
necessary to adopt it.

"If our citizens," he says in a letter to Mr. Poinsett,
January 13, " will not pay duties upon dutiable imports, and
we resolve to exclude the Federal Courts from deciding con-
troversies which are constitutionally within their jurisdic-

80 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

tion our ports will be blockaded. ... In the event of our
being drawn into a struggle with our foes and the foes of
our country, and of our rights and liberties I hope & trust
that we shall meet the emergency like men, prepared without
boasting to defend ourselves with arms in our hands. The
Nullifiers appear to be persuaded that they could raise the
blockade of our ports and produce the retreat of the navy and
military of the Federal Gov* whenever they please simply
by the formal declaration of Secession ; but in this respect
they labor under the same delusion which has characterised
ail "their proceedings, for nothing is more evident to any
observer at this place than that the Congress of the United
States will not permit South Carolina to withdraw herself
from the Union."

" The President contemplates sending a special message
to Congress upon the subject of our affairs & declared that
he would immediately execute his intention unless I should
say to him that a delay would contribute to the safety of
the members of the Union party. I told him that it would
be a source of infinite regret to us if the proper course of
the Gov* should be arrested or paralysed by any considera-
tion which was personal to ourselves, that we felt, I was
confident, the same inclination which he did that the mad-
ness & folly and lawless usurpation of those who now tyran-
nised over us should be suppressed by the authority of the
Union. I suggested to the President that it might be ad-
visable to postpone the communication for a few days in
order that some impression may be made on the tariff dis-
cussion, this he has promised to do."

The danger of an armed collision was averted, as is well
known, by the unshaken firmness of the President, and the
passage of the Compromise Bill of Mr. Clay by the com-
bined vote of the Protectionists and the Mlifiers, with Mr.
Calhoun at their head. The secret history of this bill may
be read in Mr. Benton's " Thirty Years in the Senate," vol.
i. p. 342. Suffice it to say here that the result was that the
bill gave to the Protectionists all that they could reasonably
claim in the changed condition of feeling throughout the
country in regard to the Tariff question, — a rate of protection
gradually decreasing during nine years, — while, of course, it
was not satisfactory to the Legislature of South Carolina,
which continued for some time to protest, threaten, and

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 81

nullify. But the people outside of the State, and the General
Government paid little attention to all this talk, regarding
it, as it proved to be, mere brutum fulmen.

I certainly have no design of writing a history of the
Nullification troubles. I merely wish to present the views
of some of the most eminent men in South Carolina at that
time — of Poinsett, of Huger, and of Drayton — in regard to
a question which has always been important, and which our
later history has shown to be the most practical in its bear-
ings of any which can agitate the country, — namely, the duty
of the General Government to enforce the execution of its
own laws under all circumstances and everywhere. If this
is a principle which is now deeply rooted in the national life,
and universally recognized as the basis of our national policy,
we ought, it seems to me, to recall with pride and thankful-
ness the heroic struggles of those men who in the darkest
days of trial and personal danger, and with a full conscious-
ness that they were sacrificing fortune, and old friends, as
well as social and political position, boldly proclaimed and
maintained the truth upon which the Government under
which we live has been built. 1

When the strife and excitement attendant upon the
" troublous times" of the Nullification era had closed Mr.
Poinsett married, and became a rice planter near George-
town. Here he exhibited the same enterprise, intelligence,
and activity which he had displayed in his public life. He be-
came a prosperous planter, and the hours which he could
spare from the cultivation of his farm were given to reading,
and especially to scientific studies, while he enjoyed the
society of the cultivated people who thronged around him,
eager to learn from his lips the lessons which had been taught
him by a large experience of life in many countries and under
many diverse conditions. Like many retired statesmen he
became extremely fond of the comparative repose of rural

1 Colonel Drayton resigned his seat in Congress in 1833, owing, as he
expressed it, "to a deep-rooted and thorough disgust of public life."
He removed shortly afterwards to Philadelphia, and the remainder of hia
useful and honorable life was passed in that city.

6

82 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

life. He believed in the possibility of cultivating success-
fully here mauy of the plants which he had seen growing
in the various countries he had visited, and he amused
himself with experiments to naturalize them here. Prob-
ably this period of his life was the happiest he had ever
known. He had at last a home where he was surrounded
not only by the comforts of life, but where his refined and
elegant tastes had full play. Shut out, it is true, by his
political opinions from public life in his own State, he
nevertheless enjoyed what has always been " the classic
diversion of a statesman's care," — the cultivation of his
fields and the never-failing resource of his books.

But although his own State neglected him, he was not
forgotten by those who remembered and could reward his
services to the nation. He was appointed Secretary of "War
in 1837 by Mr. Yan Buren, and certainly no one was a bet-
ter judge than he of the activity, temper, and tact which
Mr. Poinsett would bring to the execution of the duties of
his office. The new field of duty upon which he entered at
Washington was, as we have seen, one entirely suited to his
tastes and habits from his earliest boyhood. He at once
introduced strict methods of accounting: into the transaction
of the business of the office, and he especially distinguished
himself by improvements in what may be called the scien-
tific work of the Government. It was he who was chosen
(although the subject properly belonged to the Navy Depart.
ment) by Mr. Yan Buren's Cabinet to organize and equip
the " Wilkes Exploring Expedition," and whatever credit the
nation received for the results of that voyage, a good deal of
it belongs to his provident care and liberality in fitting out
the expedition. He planned and founded, moreover, the first
National Museum and Institute in Washington, which was
the worthy progenitor of the more famous Smithsonian In-
stitution.

While in Europe in early life he had been much struck
with certain improvements which had beeu introduced into
the organization of the French armies under Napoleon.
Among these things was the constitution and duties of the

The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett. 83

MU major, or general staff of the army, the improvements in
artillery equipment and practice, and the vast importance of
a corps, known in the English service as that of sappers
miners. He labored hard to introduce all these improve-
ments into our own small army. He was only partially
successful. He completely reorganized, however, our artil-
lery, and established batteries of what were called flying
artillery. He sent Colonel Ringgold, who was afterwards
killed while doing gallant service at Palo Alto in command
of one of these batteries, to Europe to perfect himself in
the details of the service. Much of our success in the bat-
tles of the Mexican War was owing, as is well known, to the
superiority of our artillery, and its excellence was in a great
measure due to the prudent care and foresight of Mr. Poin-
sett while Secretary of War.

When Mr. Van Buren's term as President expired, Mr
Poinsett returned to his plantation in South Carolina He
went back to his old work with renewed interest, and took
no further part in political affairs. His health, as well as
that of his wife, required attention, and they lived happy
and contented together in private life. No one enjoyed
more domestic happiness than he; and no one had more
reason to wish for its long continuance. But the time of
his departure was at hand, and he died peacefully on the
12th of December, 1851, being nearly seventy-three years
old. J

Mr. Poinsett had been much in the public eye for more
than a half a century, and his career had been, as I have
endeavored to show, a singularly useful and honorable one
During the whole of it he was remarkable for many quali-
ties in which our prominent men are often singularly defi-
cient. In the extent of his knowledge, in his devotion to
duty as a principle in public affairs, in the firmness and de-
cision of his character, in the great courage of his opinions
he had few if any rivals. As a speaker he was clear and
forcible; his voice was not strong, but so distinct that he
could be heard without difficulty. In the control of his

84 The Life and Services of Joel R. Poinsett.

temper, in his self-possession in danger, in the courteous
simplicity of his manners, he was a model. Above all, he
was a typical American, willingly sacrificing everything to
maintain his American principles, and as such, it seems to
me that he is one of those Americans whose memory we
should not willingly let die.

W92

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